The Devil and the Dragon
by DragonMaiden77
Summary: Dante has a partner he didn't want. He tries to be cold but falls for this mysterious girl. When she begins having nightmares about her dark past Dante will do anything to help her, but maybe her past is better left unknown. Dante/OC Review and enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

The Devil and the Dragon

Chapter One

_This is ridiculous, _Dante thought to himself as he walked the dead streets of the town. _I should be at home sleeping. Instead I'm looking for a demon that might not even be here! _The silver haired demon hunter was on a job to destroy a demon that was killing and mutilating children around the area. _This job doesn't even pay, why Morrison can't give me a good job for once I have no clue. _At that point Dante heard rustling behind him. He pulled out Ebony and Ivory, his twin guns and smiled.

"Show time," he said as he turned around and started firing. The demon hissed and spit at him then went crawling up the wall. Dante continued firing and hit the demon's arm. The wound caused the demon to fall down the wall and make a sickening _snap_ as its body hit the ground. The demon tried to get back up. Dante shot it point blank and smiled ear to ear.

"I thought by the look of you, you would put up a better fight, heh, guess I was wrong," he turned around and heard a voice.

"Nice shooting, kid," the voice said. Dante turned around and saw a dark figure standing a few yards away. Dante raised his gun at the figure.

"Who are you? What are you doing here? Show yourself!" he demanded. The figure brushed something off their trench coat and turned around. Dante could clearly see the figure's sword now. It was green and long but thin, and the hilt looked like a dragon, its eyes matching the color of the blade. In the other hand she held a duffle bag.

The stranger's eyes were as green as the blade, like jade. Her hair reached to her knees, midnight black with blue tips. Her lips were raised in a half smile and the cross necklace seemed to glow in the light. She wore black jeans and a black shirt with a silver cross on it and wore knee high combat boots. Her black trench coat blew back behind her as a sudden gust of wind rushed down the alley.

"I could ask you the same question, but I already know who you are," she said smoothly as her eyes met Dante's. Dante looked at her skeptically.

"Oh yeah, who am I then smart girl?" he glared at her. She returned his gaze and her smile grew bigger.

"Obviously you are a demon hunter. I heard of a silver haired demon hunter," she said as she raised her blade and threw it towards Dante. Dante ducked out of the way just in time and heard a sickening _thump _as the blade sliced in between the demon's eyes. Its eyes rolled into the back of its head and he fell to the ground. Dante looked at the demon as it lay dead in its own pool of blood. The stranger walked up to the corpse and pulled the sword out of the body. Her blade was bathed in blood.

The demon's body started convulsing and the wound foamed until it finally became still. Dante looked at the body in awe. Never had he seen a reaction like that happen to a demon. He looked and the stranger.

"How did you do that?" He asked. The stranger shrugged and threw her sword onto her shoulder.

"Family secret, tool of the trade," she winked at him, "I'm not another pretty face you know," she said as she wiped of the blade with the tail of her coat.

"I didn't know that was a pretty face," he said mockingly. The stranger smiled a little.

"Yeah well it surprised me too," she looked over at him, "I heard a silver haired demon hunter around here ran a little shop, detective agency or something, called Devil May Cry. Is that you?" Dante smirked.

"Have you seen any other demon hunters with silver hair around these parts?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Actually yes," she said. Dante became serious and stared at her.

"What?" he said. She laughed.

"No, I haven't, but it was funny to see your face like that!" she giggled to herself a little more. She slung her sword over her shoulder and put her hand out.

"My name is Nacari, my friends called me Cari. You can call me Nacari though, and you are?" Dante looked at the hand. He crossed his arms.

"Dante," he said somberly. Nacari lowered her hand. She gave him a mock salute and started walking away.

"Nice talking to you Dante, hope to see you around," she said as she was walking. Dante's heart skipped a beat as he saw her fading.

"Wait!" he said. She looked back.

"What?" she asked. Before he knew what he was doing, Dante began speaking.

"Do you have a place to stay tonight, because if not, I have a couch," he said. As what he said reached his ears, he regretted it. _Why did I say that, I don't even know her!_ She was as surprised as he was at the sudden outburst. She smiled a little and Dante's heart started to race a little.

"I have a place to stay tonight, I'll stop by tomorrow though," she turned around and started walking away. After she was gone Dante started walking home himself. He had no idea who this woman was, but she was interesting. _She has to be at least twenty one, _he thought to himself. He was interested in that blade as well. It was a very nice looking blade; he had never seen a green blade like that before. Plus, the wielder wasn't half bad. Dante shook his head trying to get rid of her fading image.

"She's probably a demon hunter or some sort of mercenary; she had very good skills and a nice sword. She is not the type that just walks around saying she's a demon hunter," he said to himself as he relived the fight in his mind. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

"I need a beer and a strawberry sundae," he said as he walked home after one Hell-of-a-Night.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

As soon as Dante opens the door, Patty runs down the stairs.

"DAN-TE! IS THAT YOU?" she shrieked. Dante rolls his eyes.

"Know it's a burglar, give me all your money kid," he said sarcastically. Patty crossed her arms and pouted.

"We don't have any money because the guy who owns this place is too lazy to work!" Dante hung his coat up then sat down at his desk.

"That's why I was out, because I'm just killing demons because it's fun," he picked up a magazine and started reading. Patty walked up to Dante and put her hands on his desk.

"Did you get paid?" she asked. Dante ignored her. Patty growled.

"Dante you are so unbearable! Did you get any groceries while you were out?" Dante continued reading.

"DANTE! STOP IGNORING ME!" she yelled. Dante flipped the page.

"Why don't you make yourself useful and go get me a beer," he said nonchalantly. Patty stomped her foot and put her hands on her hips.

"What part of 'WE NEED GROCERIES' do you not understand? We don't have any food, and no more beer!" she screeched.

"Really?" Dante asked, "Damn it, I really wanted a beer and a sundae, alright, go get us something to eat," he continued reading as he spoke. Patty's face became red with rage.

"IT'S MIDNIGHT YOU IDIOT! ALL THE SHOPS ARE CLOSED!GRRRAAHHHH!" she stomped around the room mumbling to herself. Dante continued reading.

"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME DANTE?" Patty yelled. Dante turned the page.

"I chose not to listen to you. There is an open twenty four hour gas station down the block, why don't you go there?" he said calmly.

Patty did a face palm and toke a deep breath.

"We don't have any money, Dante," she said. She climbed up the stairs and slammed the door. Dante propped his feet up and fell asleep.

"Hi, welcome to Devil May Cry, where no job is too big or too tough! Can I help you?" Patty said to the customer that walked into the door. She looked around the store then looked at Patty.

"Hi, I'm Nacari Long, I'm looking for Dante," she said. Patty taped her chin nervously.

"He's sleeping right now, but if you can come back later Miss Long he'll be up," Patty said. Nacari looked disappointed.

"Oh, ok. He said I could stay here for a while, well, while I'm in town. I also had a question for him, I'll be back," she turned to walk away but Patty stepped in front of her.

"Wait, Dante said you could stay here? Are you his girlfriend or something?" Patty asked. Nacari giggled.

"No, we met last night. I would say we hit it off, but he probably only said I could stay because we share the same occupation," Nacari said. She stood by the door and crossed her arms.

"Well, we have the same hobby. I can't say it's an occupation because I don't get paid," Patty snorted.

"Neither does Dante, he is so lazy, he doesn't even have enough money for food!" Patty crossed her arms and pouted.

"He drives me crazy!" Patty looked at Nacari and raised her index finger.

"Give me one minute and I'll get him up, though he might be grumpy. Don't let that bother you, he's always grumpy, be right back!" Patty rushes over to Dante's desk and starts shaking him.

"Dante, wake up! You have someone here to see you. Her name is Nacari Long. Wake up!" Patty continued to shake him until he opened one eye.

"What about a girl named Nacari?" he asked. Patty stopped shaking him and pointed to the door.

"She says you invited her to stay here," Patty began, "I like her, she seems nice, and this way you can have a friend to talk to instead of gambling our money away and reading your retarded magazines," Patty picked up a magazine and flipped through it.

"How can you afford this junk and not food?"Patty shook her head and threw it back on Dante's desk.

"Just get out here!" Patty walked out. Dante stretched and made his way out. Dante's mouth became dry as he saw her. She was prettier in the day. Her eyes gleamed in the light and she was wearing her half smile and her cross again. She also wore her combat boots with a ruffled black knee high skirt and sleeveless white shirt. Nacari had her duffel bag in her hand and her sword secured on her back.

"Hey, remember me?" Nacari asked. Dante nodded and looked away.

"Yeah I remember you. What do you want?" Dante walked back into his office and she followed him. He sat down and Nacari sat on the edge of his desk. Her hair flowed on the desk like a black and blue waterfall. Dante picked up a magazine and began reading to distract himself.

"You said I could stay here, right?" Nacari asked.

"No," Dante began, "That offer was for last night, it is no longer valid, unless you are willing to pay for housing. . . and don't walk around with your sword exposed like that, it scares the locals," he looked at her over his magazine to see her reaction. She cocked her head.

"How much do you want?" she asked innocently. Dante pretended to consider it.

"One hundred and fifty dollars a week," he said. Nacari looked at him like he was crazy.

"One fifty to stay here? This place is a dump!" she motioned to the empty bowls and beer cans around the room. Dante shrugged and continued reading.

"It's that or nothing, take it or leave it," Nacari rolled her eyes and put her foot up on the desk and began taking off her boot. Dante looked over.

"Letting me see you naked isn't going to lower the rent, though it would put me in a pretty good mood," he said. Nacari looked at him and toke a bundle of bills out of her boot.

"What the hell are you talking about? I was getting my money you pervert," she started sorting through her cash.

"Put your money somewhere else then. People could get the wrong idea if you pull that stunt off again," he said. Nacari looked at him then handed him a wad of cash. Dante looked at the wad of fifties and hundreds.

"This is for two weeks," Nacari said. She stood up and put her hair behind her ears. Dante put the money in his pocket and continued reading.

"What is your sword?" he asked all of a sudden. Nacari cocked her head again at the random question. Dante looked over at her.

"Don't do that, you look like an idiot. How did your sword make that demon react like that last night?" he asked. Nacari showed Dante her sword and ran her finger along the blade.

"This is known as an Assassin Sword. It possesses a poisonous blade that can kill anything instantly," she set the sword on Dante's desk. Dante looked at it uneasily.

"What do you mean it can kill anything?" he asked. Nacari shrugged.

"Well, almost anything. It's a poison called Ravein; it kills any unholy creature instantly if injected directly into the blood stream or any vital organ. It has no effect on humans," she stroked the hilt affectionately.

"It was a present from my father, named after my great grandmother, Rose's Thorn. I was supposed to take on the family business. . ." she looked at it lovingly.

"I'm guessing your family business wasn't flower arrangement, was it?" Dante asked. Nacari shook her head and smiled.

"No," she began, "we weren't. We were devil hunters, demon slayers. It is my legacy," she looked over at Dante.

"My father had a son who would have taken the business, but he died with my mother in a house fire," she looked back at the sword.

"As the eldest daughter, it was my responsibility to carry the family legacy," she put her duffel bag down on the floor and caught Dante's gaze.

"But I can't do it on my own, that's why I'm looking for a partner. One that I can actually count on when it comes to killing demons without thinking twice and doesn't let their emotions get in the way," she blushed and looked away.

"I did have a partner, my sister, but she is dead," she sighed and smiled a little.

"Actually, your friend reminds me of my little sister, what is her name?" she asked. Dante began reading his magazine again to avoid her gaze.

"Patty," he said. Nacari looked down.

"Patty . . . my sister's name was Iris," she shrugged and looked over at Dante. She lowered the magazine and they were only inches away from each other. Dante smelled a faint scent of roses and vanilla. Her eyes held his eyes captive. As she began speaking her eyes began sparkling.

"I was looking for you for a reason Dante," she began, "I need a partner, and I heard of an amazing demon slayer who runs a shop called Devil May Cry from the other town over," she became serious.

"I want you to be my partner Dante!" Dante looked at her in shock. He shook his head.

"No," he said. Nacari looked at him. She put her hands on the desk and looked at him.

"What do you mean no?" Dante shrugged and looked at her straight in the eye.

"I don't work with partners. Besides, I can barely pay myself, let alone an employee. Go bother someone else with this job offer, someone who is interested," he continued reading his magazine. Nacari crossed her arms.

"Just give me a chance; I don't even need to get paid! I have a large inheritance, so I don't need any money," she got closer to Dante.

"Please Dante! You are the best according to other demon hunters. I want to learn from the best and I need a partner who I can count on to get the job done! I know some stuff, but my sword does all the work, I need to learn how to be a legitimate demon slayer!" Dante looked over his paper at her. She looked to be on the verge of tears, her hands were clenched in fists. Dante sighed.

"What do you mean your sword does all the work?" he asked. Nacari picked up her sword.

"The sword is made out of the tooth of my great grandfather's first kill, a jade dragon named Largamith. Note the hilt," she gave him a closer look at the sword, "it is etched in Largamith's image. It is enchanted, my great grandfather forged it from the tooth and blood of Largamith and had a spell put on it by a dark witch," she toke the sword and stood away from Dante's desk.

"_Fero Ignis!" _she said the strange words. All of a sudden the blade glowed red and burst into flames. Dante looked at the sword in amazement. Nacari swooshed the sword around lowered it.

_"Normal Redire," _she said the strange words again and the sword returned to normal. Dante tried not to seem impressed. Nacari walked back over to Dante and set it down on his desk. Dante looked at the sword.

"See what I mean, it does other things, but my Latin is rusty," Nacari said. She sat back down on Dante's desk and glared at him.

"What do you say Dante? Give me a chance. I can take care of myself, but I want to become better," she looked away suddenly.

"I want you to show me how to really fight with skill, not magic, well, at least until I leave town. Please Dante," her eyes were pleading. Dante rolled his eyes.

"I will let you go on one job with me, but if you get in the way and if I think you're getting your ass handed to you, you hit the road, got it?" he said. Nacari squealed and hugged Dante. Dante made a startled sound.

"Get off of me or else I will change my mind!" he yelled. Nacari let go and smiled at him.

"Thank you Dante . . ." she said. She yawned.

"You sound tired, you can sleep on the couch if you want, I don't have any extra rooms," he said nonchalantly. Nacari shook her head.

"I'm not tired, I don't sleep often. I could use a shower though. . ." she said. Dante pointed upstairs.

"Second door on the right," he said. Nacari nodded and grabbed her duffel bag. As she started climbing up the stairs, she turned toward Dante.

"Thank you," with that she disappeared into the hallway. Dante watched as she walked up the stairs and shook his head.

"What have I gotten myself into now?" he asked himself.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

"What do you mean she's your new partner?" Patty asked Dante. Dante shrugged.

"Your turn," he said nonchalantly. Patty took the pool stick and hit the cue ball. She managed to get in the three ball.

"Dante, you've only known this girl for a little while. If she was just a roommate, I would understand, but this is serious Dante," she said. She missed the four ball and turned to Dante.

"This is very serious. I've never seen you with a partner before. Mainly because you don't play well with others, especially when it comes to gambling and fighting," she said. Dante aimed for the nine ball but got the four ball in the pocket.

"Damn it!" he said. Patty tisked annoyingly.

"Patty, what I do is my own business, and if you are going to be staying here you go by what I say, got it?" Dante said to her. Patty shot the eight ball in and won the game.

"Why should I listen to you if you can't even beat a little girl in billiards?" she said mockingly. She set her pool stick down and sat on the pool table.

"Now that I think about it, this could be really good for you Dante," Patty said eagerly. Dante set his pool stick down and looked at Patty.

"Oh yeah, and how is this a good thing for me?" he asked. Patty swung her legs back and forth and smiled.

"This experience could teach you how to treat a lady. Sure you hang around with Lady and Trish sometimes, but you need someone to be with you all the time," she raised her nose up in the air.

"I can't go hanging around with you all the time Dante, I have a life you know, but with this partner, it could turn out really good. Maybe you guys will begin to like like each other," Patty batted her eyelashes. Dante scowled.

"I don't think so, she's not my type," he said. Patty rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"You really need to lower your standards Dante. You meet a nice girl that has an interest in you and you just totally shoot her down," Patty straightened her dress and hoped down from the pool table. She looked at him and held her hand out.

"Give me some money, I'm gonna get us some groceries," Patty said. Dante gave her a fifty dollar bill. Patty waved and was gone. Dante walked back over to the desk and looked at Nacari's sword. He felt the blade. It was unusually warm. He picked up the sword. The hilt was incredibly cold, like ice. The dragon's eyes seemed to glow and stare up at Dante. It was a very light sword, almost to light. Dante tried to remember some of the words that Nacari said earlier that made the blade burst into flames.

He couldn't remember the words. He set the sword back down. It was a very beautiful sword. He looked up at the stairs. The wielder was very nice looking as well. Dante shook his head. Damn, he couldn't stop thinking about her. He sat down at his desk and started reading his magazine, though he really wasn't focusing on the words.

It seemed as though most of Nacari's family is dead. She said her mother, brother, and sister had died. What about her father? Was he still alive? He couldn't remember if she had mentioned anything about her father's living status. _If she is going to be my partner,_ he thought, _I need to know more about her past. . ._

His thoughts were interrupted by the door opening. The bell above the door rang to signal Dante that someone was here. Dante looked up and saw Morrison setting his hat down on Dante's desk. Dante continued reading his magazine.

"What do you want Morrison?" he asked. Morrison leaned against the wall and toke out a cigarette.

"I have another job for you," he said. Dante set down the magazine and looked at Morrison.

"I'm not taking any more jobs this week. Especially after that goose chase you sent me on two nights ago. I didn't even get paid for that job," he said annoyingly. Morrison shrugged.

"This one can pay well, and it's actually pretty easy. It's right down your alley Dante," he smirked. Dante raised an eyebrow.

"Ok, I am listening," Morrison toke out a picture. It was of a broken down house.

"What is this?" Dante asked. Morrison gave Dante the picture.

"A couple had just bought this place. They said they wanted a 'fixer-upper', but they think this place is possessed or haunted," Dante gave the picture back to Morrison.

"I don't do ghosts, leave that to those psychic quacks," he picked up his magazine again and began reading. Morrison shrugged.

"The thing is, I think it is possessed by a demon, or is inhabited by a demon, that's why I want you to go check it out. If it turns out that there is not a demonic presence, you can tell them that you've taken care of the "ghost" and still get paid," Morrison glanced at Dante. Dante didn't look up. Morrison reached into his pocket and got a penny out.

"How about this Dante, let's make a bet. If you win, I'll pay off all your debts, but if you lose, you do the job, ok?" Dante looked over his magazine.

"Tails," Dante said unhappily. Morrison flipped the coin up into the air and caught then slapped it down on his arm. He looked at it then looked at Dante.

"Heads," he said amused. Dante slammed the magazine down.

"Damn it," Dante said annoyed. Morrison smirked.

"Well Dante, here is the adder. . .oh?" Morrison turned to the steps as Nacari came walking down. She was wearing a pair of black jeans and a Three Days Grace T-Shirt. She waved at Morrison.

"Hello, are you a friend of Dante's?" she asked. Morrison nodded his head.

"You can say that, I'm Dante's agent, Morrison," he stuck his hand out as she came down the stairs.

"Nacari Long, nice to meet you," she said. Morrison kissed her hand.

"The pleasure is mine, my dear Nacari," he said. Nacari blushed. Dante got up and walked over to Morrison.

"I thought you were leaving Morrison. . ." he said angrily. Morrison shrugged and got his hat off of Dante's desk.

"Who is your new friend Dante?" he asked as he put the hat on.

"She is my partner," Dante said nonchalantly. Morrison looked at Dante in surprise.

"Partner?" he asked. Dante nodded.

"You gonna give me that address for the house or what?" Dante asked. Morrison handed him the address, said goodbye and left. Dante looked at the card Morrison had given him and set it down on the desk. Nacari looked over at the desk. She turned to Dante.

"What is that Dante?" she asked. Dante shrugged and started chalking up a pool stick. She walked over to it and picked it up. She read it then looked at Dante.

"This looks like an address. Why do you have it? Looking for a nicer place or something?" she asked. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and walked over to Dante. She leaned against the pool table as Dante was about to break. He looked over at her then hit the cue ball.

"Dante what is this? Can you please talk to me?" she pleaded. Dante walked over to where the cue ball landed and aimed for the two ball.

"It's the area where our next mission will be," he said and hit the cue ball. It bounced off the two ball and scratched.

"Damn it," he said angrily. Nacari tapped her fingers against the table and stared at Dante. He gave her a sideways glance.

"What?" he asked annoyed. Nacari gave him a smile and that lazy look. She walked over to him and put her hands on her hips.

"We have a mission, that's great Dante!" she said excitedly. She looked at the address again and sighed happily.

"It's not even that far from here, is it?" She looked up at Dante and grinned. His heart started beating at the way she looked up at him. He looked away. She walked away and picked up her sword. She looked over at Dante and slung her sword over her shoulder.

"C'mon, let's go! I can't wait to get my sword dirty again!" she was smiling ear to ear as she started putting on her boots. Dante put the pool stick down and walked to where she was sitting. He put his hands in his pocket and just looked at her.

"What are you doing?" he asked. Nacari looked up at him and stood up. She looked lopsided with only one boot on. She put her hands on her hips and tapped her non-booted foot.

"What do you mean 'what are you doing?' I'm getting ready to go to the mission," she said impatiently. She rolled her eyes and put her other boot on. Dante ran his fingers through his head. He sighed and looked over at her.

"I never said we were going right now. It is a possible haunting, so the best time to go is at night. Midnight preferably," he walked over to the couch and flopped down on it and closed his eyes. Nacari walked over to Dante and stood with her arms crossed. She looked away and sat on the other couch. Nacari hugged her knees and rested her chin on top of them. Dante opened one eye and looked over at her.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked. She looked over at him and then looked away. Her hair fell across her face and only her lips and chin showed.

"I was just thinking is all," she said quietly. She sighed and looked over at Dante again.

"Sometimes a lot of memories rush back to me randomly. It's kind of weird, like a waking nightmare. I know what you're thinking; 'She is a demon hunter, why would she be having nightmares, she faces them every day?', but, I do have nightmares, except mine I can't wake up from and be relieved that it was only a dream. I. . ." she caught herself and looked away quickly. Dante looked over at her curiously but closed his eyes again. It was quiet for a while.

"Dante," Nacari said, breaking the silence.

"Hm?"

"Do you have nightmares?" she looked over at him eagerly.

"Nope," he said. Nacari looked away again.

"Oh, well that's ok, you must be lucky. . ." she said quietly. Dante heard rustling as Nacari laid down. He heard a contented sigh and looked over at her. Her arm was across her head, the other one fell limply off the couch. Her dark lashes splashed across her pale face as she closed her eyes. Her lips were parted slightly as she breathed through her mouth. She looked like a dying Juliet from Shakespeare's play. Dante felt his mouth become dry and his heart pounding.

_What the Hell is wrong with me? _He thought to himself. He has felt lust before. Who hasn't? This was different. He only thought about her; her and her jade eyes looking up at him with childlike innocence. He also remembered her embrace, her arms hanging around his neck. Her body pressed up against his, her rose colored lips coming closer to his lips. . .

He shook his head to get the thoughts out of his head. He pressed his hands against his eyes trying to erase the images from his mind. He stood up without looking at her and went over to the refrigerator. He opened the door and looked inside of it. Not for something to eat, for some cool air. He leaned his head against the refrigerator frame and closed his eyes. _Think of her like Lady or Trish, just a friend, an annoying friend who lives with you. _He closed the door and walked over to his desk. He picked up the picture of his mother and stared at it. He sighed and set it back down.

_One thing we have in common, _he thought to himself, _we both have lost our mothers. _He looked over at Nacari's sleeping form. She almost seemed to be smiling in her sleep. He turned away from her. He sat down and began reading his magazine. Dante set down the magazine and started massaging his temples. _How am I going to do this? _He thought to himself, _I have to keep her at arm's length, I don't know how she will react if she finds out what I am. . . _He didn't want her to find out about his own heritage, it really wasn't something you go around telling people.

"AAAHHHHHHH!" Nacari screamed. Dante jumped up and rushed over to her. She was sweating and shivering. She was sitting up and was hugging herself. Dante put his hand on her shoulder and she jumped up.

"Nacari! Are you okay?" Dante asked nervously. She had a wild look in her eyes and didn't seem to recognize him. She toke some deep breathes and sighed.

"Um. . . I'm sorry, I just . . ." she had a faraway look in her eyes as she spoke. She wouldn't look at Dante.

"I had a nightmare," she whispered, "Just another nightmare. . . I'm sorry. . ." she sat back down. Dante wanted to comfort her but decided against it. He stayed behind the couch, watching her. She seemed to have calmed down a little bit. Dante reached to touch her shoulder again but remembered her reaction earlier and withdrew.

"Do you want to stay home tonight," he asked solemnly. She shook her head and turned to look at him.

"No, I am okay, just a nightmare, I told you I have them," she smiled a little. Dante looked away.

"What was it about?" he asked. She froze and hugged herself again.

"I don't remember. . ." she said. Dante nodded his head. He knew she was lying, but he wouldn't pressure her. Dante looked back at her.

"This better not distract you from our mission tonight. Remember what I said?" he said to her. She nodded and looked back at him.

"Don't worry, I'm fine Dante. I remember what you said, and I won't let a stupid nightmare distract me," she gave him a grin.

"You can't get rid of me that easily!" she gave a little giggle and looked away. She still wouldn't meet his gaze and she still had a distant look in her eyes. Dante walked away. There was nothing he could do except let her get over it. She better get over it, because if there was a demon in this house, she would need to be on guard.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

"Oh thank you for coming!" Cheryl Mormon said excitedly. Johanna Mormon nodded his head in agreement. The young couple held each other as they saw Dante and Nacari walk up. It was dark and the whole town seemed dead. Dante held a bored expression on his face. Nacari was trying to hide the excitement on her face. Cheryl looked at Dante's guitar case and at Nacari's rifle case slung over her shoulder.

"What are those for?" she asked nervously. She eyed Nacari's rifle case with extra caution. Nacari opened her mouth to speak but Dante put his hand up to stop her.

"Sometimes ghosts are attracted to music, that's why I brought it," he said in his husky voice. Cheryl looked a little relieved, but still looked nervously at the rifle case. Dante followed her gaze.

"This is for protection from living people. Burglars see an empty house and they think it's easy to loot. Don't worry, there is only one bullet in the chamber," he walked towards the house. Nacari looked over as Dante entered the house. She giggled nervously.

"Um . . . It is probably a good idea for you to leave now, you might not want to be here later in the night," Nacari said. The couple nervously looked at each other and hurried to their car. The tires squealed on the asphalt as they drove down the road to the nearby motel. Nacari rubbed her neck and entered the house. Dante was lounging on the couch. Nacari put her hands on her hips and stared at him. He opened an eye.

"What?" he asked innocently. Nacari rolled her eyes.

"You don't just go walking into people's houses Dante! The least you could have done was say goodbye to them," she sighed and sat down on the floor next to Dante. Dante looked over at her and shrugged.

"They invited me, and they need my services, so even if I am a jerk to them, they have no choice but to be nice to me or else I won't get rid of their 'ghost' problem," he closed his eyes again. Nacari hugged her knees to her chest.

"Dante, what if it is a ghost?" she looked over at him. He didn't move.

"Dante, what happens if it actually IS a ghost? What are we going to do?" she asked. Dante opened an eye and looked over at her.

"It's not a ghost. Trust me, I can tell," he said nonchalantly. Nacari looked at him strongly.

"How in the world would you know that?" she asked.

"You will know these things when you are older," he said and closed his eyes again. Nacari looked at him and blew a strand of hair out of her face. It was quiet for a while. There was the sound of footfalls up in the attic. Nacari looked up there nervously. Dante did nothing. The footfalls became heavier as it came to the attic door. Nacari chewed on her finger nails and looked over at Dante, who still didn't move. The footfalls became silent as they reached the door. Nacari looked at the door expecting it to open.

"Get your sword," Dante whispered. Nacari jumped and looked over at him. He still hadn't moved.

"Get your sword," he repeated angrily. Nacari got the rifle case and fumbled with the zipper. When she opened it she drew her sword out of the case, its blade glowed evilly in the dim lighting. Dante's hands were in the inside of his jacket. Nacari stood up and raised her blade. Dante stayed in the position he was in as soon as he entered the home. Nacari looked back at him nervously.

"Dan. . ." she began. As soon as a sound left her lips the door burst opened. A creature that resembled a dog and a mosquito burst through the door and let out an unearthly howl. It glared at Nacari with its green and blue bug eyes. Dante smiled evilly.

"It's about time you ugly ass son-of-a-bitch!" he pulled his guns out of his jacket and began shooting. The creature howled angrily and crawled up the ceiling. It crawled with an unnatural speed and jumped down behind them. Nacari raise her sword and slashed out. The blade cut off one of its four arms. It howled as the blood squirted all over Nacari. Its eyes radiated hate as it struck out. Dante and Nacari both jumped out of the way as its claw made contact with the sofa. The upholstery made a ripping sound as the razor sharp claw sliced through it. It howled again. Dante continued shooting at it and managed to permanently damage its deformed wing.

Nacari watch as the creature became hunched in pain. She noticed Dante's expression. It was that of pure joy and he was smiling ear to ear. The creature flung itself at Dante. Dante literally jumped out of the way and the creature ran head first into the wall. Nacari walked over to where Dante was and saw the creature as it got up after losing a fight with the dining room table. Nacari toke the sword in both hands and spaced her feet out.

"_BALL VOCO IGNIS!" _Nacari yelled. A fire started on the edge of the blade. Nacari raised the sword and lowered it in the direction of the creature. The fire formed into the shape of a ball and launched and it towards the demon. It hit its shoulder and it screamed horribly. It looked over at Nacari with hatred in its eyes and launce itself at Nacari. Nacari put her sword up defensively as she prepared for the blow.

_BOOM!_ Nacari opened her eyes. Dante was in front of her with his gun drawn. The demons body fell with a thud as its head exploded. Grey matter and blood flew onto the walls and furnishings. Her heart pounded into her throat as Dante lowered his gun. He looked behind him and smirked.

"Heheh, not bad. Need to learn to get out of the way of a charging demon, though. It was a pretty good move when you dismember its arm. That move you pulled with the fire was really interesting and distracted the demon long enough for me to get a fatal shot," he put his guns away and started walking out. He looked back at her.

"Oh and next time, don't bring a rifle case," he continued walking. Nacari did a double take.

"Wait, next time? So does that mean I am your partner?" she asked eagerly. He gave her a sideways glance and nodded.

"You need practice, but you could be useful," he walked out the door. Nacari jumped up.

"Yes Yes YES!" she squealed. Dante half smiled at her excitement. She laughed eagerly.

"Dante I would give you a hug if I wasn't covered in blood!" she giggled a little more and followed Dante. They began walking down the street towards their home.

"Dante?" Nacari said.

"What?" he asked. Nacari looked up at him innocently.

"Aren't we going to clean up back there?" she asked. Dante chuckled.

"They can take care of it themselves," he said. Nacari shrugged and they continued walking as the sun began to rise.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

"What the Hell do you mean I'm not getting paid Morrison?" Dante asked angrily. He scowled as Morrison toke out a cigarette.

"Dante, you left their house in ruins," Morrison said. Dante scowled and ran a hand through his hair.

"They wanted a fixer upper!" Dante said. Morrison massaged his temples and sighed.

"They wanted a fixer upper. You totally destroyed the house!" Morrison said.

"They wanted me to get rid of their demon problem, and I did! In fact I think after I got rid of the demon the house looked better," Dante said angrily. Morrison stared at him in disbelief.

"You made it look like a shoot off between a drug lord and the cops, Dante! It looks like a crime scene! The Mormon's have a right to be upset with you," Morrison said annoyed. Dante crossed his arms and leaned against his desk.

"I got rid of the demon, or their 'ghost'. They never said I had to leave the house in one piece," Dante said aggressively.

"I think they would have preferred the demon, no, FIVE DEMONS then have their house looking the way you left it!" Morrison said with equal aggression. Dante growled and kicked his desk. One of the legs snapped off and the desk became lopsided.

"DAMN IT!" Dante yelled. Morrison massaged his head.

"Dante, I think you need anger management," Morrison said. Dante flopped down on the couch and held his head in his hands. Morrison sighed and walked over to Dante.

"Listen, I have to go. I'll come by the next time I get a job," Morrison put on his hat and left the shop. Dante ran his hand through his hair and sighed.

"Dante, are you ok?" Nacari asked from the stairs. Dante looked over at her and nodded.

"I'm fine, how much did you hear?" he asked. Nacari walked down the stairs and walked over to Dante.

"I heard everything. . ." she said. She sat down next to Dante and looked at him.

"Does that mean you're not getting paid then?" she asked innocently. Dante nodded. She sighed unhappily and hugged herself.

"Does this happen often?" she asked. Dante nodded again. Nacari sighed.

"No wonder you're in debt," Nacari whispered. Dante looked over at her and scowled.

"How did you know that?" he asked. Nacari blushed and looked away.

"Patty told me," she said innocently. Dante rolled his eyes. Nacari looked over at Dante.

"What are we going to do today?" she asked. Dante shrugged.

"I need to fix my desk sometime today," he said. She looked over at Dante's desk and flinched. She looked over at Dante in disbelief.

"You did that? How could you do that without breaking your foot?" she asked stunned. Dante shrugged and got up.

"Some things you just can't explain I guess," he said and looked over at her. She smiled a little. Dante walked over to the desk and examined it. The leg was split in half and almost unfixable. Dante ran his hand through his hair.

"Damn it, I need a new desk or some duck tape. . ." he said to himself. Nacari walked over to him and looked at his desk.

"Well, it does seem as though Morrison was right. You do need anger management if you can do that to a desk. . ." Dante looked over at her with a scowl. Nacari smiled nervously and giggled.

"Um. . . Just saying Dante. . ." she blushed and looked down. Dante looked back at the desk and sighed. He sat down at his desk and looked at it. He toke a few pizza boxes around his desk and put it under the broken leg. The boxes sagged under the pressure of the desk but it wasn't as lopsided as it was earlier. He shrugged.

"It'll do," he said. He looked up and saw Nacari staring at him. No, not at him, it seemed as though she was looking through. Her expression was blank and her eyes were half closed. Dante looked at her with concern.

"Nacari?" he said her name but it didn't seem to register. He got up and walked over to her. She didn't even blink. Her eyes lost their natural shine and her jade eyes looked more like swamp water. It didn't even look like she was breathing. Dante put his hands on her shoulders.

"Nacari, are you ok?" he asked concern littering his voice. Nacari looked over at him then her eyes became wide in fear.

"Huh. . . who are. . ." she began. She seemed to be scared and shocked, but soon her eyes returned to their natural green and she sighed.

"Oh, Dante. . . I'm sorry," she put her hair behind her ears and sighed, "I just zoned out for a second, I do that sometimes," she gave him an uneasy smile. Dante still was concerned, but he decided to dismiss it. Nacari looked at Dante's make shift desk leg and looked over at him skeptically.

"Are you serious?" she asked. Dante looked at her and shrugged.

"What?" he asked. Nacari motioned to the pizza boxes. Dante shrugged and crossed his arms. Nacari did a face palm.

"How do you expect to be taken seriously when your office looks like this," she asked. Dante rolled his eyes. _She's fine, _he thought to himself. Nacari yawned and looked sleepily at Dante.

"Let's do something today, I'm getting bored to death. . ." she said wearily. Dante looked over at her and raised an eyebrow.

"Want do you want me to do about that?" he asked. Nacari shrugged. She looked around the room and laid her eyes on the pool table. She smiled and turned toward Dante.

"Let's play some pool!" she said excitedly. Dante looked over at her and shook his head. Nacari crossed her arms and then smiled evilly.

"How about we make a bet when we play?" she said. Dante looked over at her.

"I'm listening," he said. Nacari flipped her hair over her shoulder and smiled.

"What do you want if you win?" Nacari asked. Dante thought about it.

"For you to pay for supper for the rest of the week," he said. Nacari nodded and put her hands on her hips.

"If I win, you have to clean up around here, ok?" she said. Dante nodded.

"Alright, let's do this before I change my mind," he said. Nacari winked at him and threw him a pool stick. He caught it and walked over to the pool table. Nacari grinned.

"Let the best woman win," she said. Dante gave her a sideways glance. She giggled gleefully and put the cue ball in the middle.

"Do you want to break or should I?" she asked. Dante motioned to her. She breaks and gets the eight ball in. She looked at it in astonishment and shock. Dante laughed at her expression. Patty had come down and was as shocked as Nacari.

"Oh my gosh, I never knew there was someone in this world worse at playing pool then Dante!" she shook her head in awe. Nacari looked over at Patty with a look of contempt.

"Just a fluke!" she said defensively. Dante chuckled as Nacari threw the pool stick down and walked over to the couch. Dante walked over to her and leaned on his pool stick. He smirked at her.

"Looks like you're paying for supper," he said happily. Nacari looked up and returned his smirk.

"It looks like you are the best woman I guess," Nacari busted out laughing. Patty laughed too.

"No matter what you do Dante, you're always the loser," Patty said. Dante scowled and walked over to his desk. Nacari watched Dante sulked. She walked up to him and pulled a stray hair. He flinched and looked up at her.

"Looks like you can't take a joke Dante," she said. Dante looked up at her and was going to say something smart, but he stopped himself. Nacari's face was glowing and her smile was beautiful. Dante smiled back and chuckled.

"I guess not," he said. Nacari smiled wider and giggled. She caught Dante's gaze and blushed. Dante looked away. Patty saw the way they were acting and put her hands on her chest.

"AWWWWWW! You guys are so cute!" she said happily. Dante looked over at her and scowled.

"Shut up," he said. Patty pouted and ran upstairs. Just as Patty walked up the stairs the door opened and a young man about fifteen or sixteen walked in. he walked over to Dante and put his hands on the desk.

"You Dante?" he asked gruffly. Dante looked at him raised an eyebrow.

"Depends, what do you want?" Dante asked. The guy crossed his arms and smirked.

"I have a job for the owner of Devil May Cry," he said smugly. Nacari looked over at Dante expectantly. Dante leaned back in his chair and stared the kid right into the eyes.

"What kind of job?" he asked. The kid smiled and showed Dante a picture. It was of a young woman with gold hair and crystal blue eyes with a man about the age of twenty nine or thirty. The kid pointed at the woman.

"I want you to kill her!" he said angrily. Nacari's expression turned grim and she turned to Dante. Dante looked at the kid without any expression on his face then turned to Nacari. Nacari looked concerned and horrified. Dante turned back to the kid.

"Why do you want her dead?" Dante asked. The kid scowled and became angry.

"She killed my brother! She is a demon!"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

"What do you mean she killed your brother?" Nacari asked nervously. The boy had just noticed her and looked over at her.

"I mean she murdered my brother you idi. . . oh," he walked over to Nacari and leaned against the wall. He smiled at her. She looked at him nervously. She was wearing black skinny jeans and a red belly shirt with black stripes. He looked at her up and down and his smile grew bigger

"Hi, my name is Jeremy. Are you new in town, because I would have noticed an angel falling from heaven," he smiled and tried to look at her seductively. Nacari giggled and blushed. Dante scowled and walked over to the kid. He pushed Nacari out of the way and was standing in front of Jeremy.

"Didn't you have a reason for coming here other than to hit on my partner?" Dante asked aggressively. The kid smirked at Dante.

"My brother is going to stay dead, but it's not every day that I am able to be in the presence of a beauty such as her," he said. Dante growled at the kid. Jeremy laughed nervously. Nacari walked back to stand next to Dante and put her hands on her hips. Jeremy looked back over at Nacari and smiled.

"What are you doing with a guy like that, baby?" he cooed. Dante's scowl became deeper. Nacari looked at the kid skeptically.

"Tell us why you are here or I'll kick your ass out," Nacari said sweetly. Jeremy whistled and smiled.

"I like them feisty!" he said. Nacari giggled and walked up to Jeremy.

"Apparently so did your brother. Why do you think the woman in the picture killed your brother?" Nacari asked. She walked over to Dante's desk and sat the edge of it. Dante walked over to the desk and sat down. Jeremy focused his attention back to Dante.

"I saw her kill him, she is a demon!" he said. Dante drummed his fingers on the desk.

"Why should I help you?" Dante asked, "After all, you did sexually harass my partner," he looked over to Nacari and Nacari rolled her eyes.

" I would hardly call it harassment Dante. Listen Jeremy," Nacari pushed her hair behind her ears and leaned forward.

"You have my partner in a pretty bad mood. If he's in a bad mood, then I am in a bad mood, so you better tell us what you want to tell us before we tell you to go home to your mommy," Nacari smirked. Jeremy looked down nervously.

"I saw my brother being killed, my mom and sister think I'm crazy and imagined it, but I SAW it!" he looked at Dante desperately.

"She melted his face off, and I'm afraid I might be next. She saw me watch he kill my brother and I don't want to be killed because I was at the right place at the wrong time!" He looked so desperate it was almost sickening. Nacari looked at Dante.

"Will you be able to pay?" Dante asked. The kid nodded.

"I can take it from my collage fund, I'm not planning on going anyway. Just please, I want her to face justice! I also need protection!" he started trembling. Nacari got up and placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and a tear fell down his face. Nacari wiped it away and smiled at him.

"Don't worry Jeremy. We won't let anyone hurt you, and we will get your brothers murderer. . ." Jeremy fell against her and started crying. She cooed to him and stroked his head. Dante watched this and his heart skipped a beat. The scene reminded him of his mother. Nacari held the boy closely and the boy held onto her like she was a lifeboat and he was drowning in a sea of his own tears.

They stayed like that for a while. Nacari said nothing and just comforted the boy. Dante never really seen Nacari act like that before. _She_ _would make a good mother, _Dante thought randomly. He flinched at the random and strange thought. Why would he think that, was it only because she reminds him of his mother? He ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

Jeremy had stopped crying and wiped away the remaining tears off his face. Dante walked over to Jeremy and put his hands in his pocket.

"Go home with your family and come back here in a day or two with the money. Do not go anywhere alone, do not go down any dark street, in fact stay home as soon as it becomes dark, but don't ever be alone. Understand?" Dante gave the kid his instructions. Jeremy nodded and walked out of the store. Nacari pushed a strand of hair out of her face and looked at Dante.

"It was nice of you to take the case," she said quietly. Dante looked at her and smirked.

"It was nice of you to comfort him like that, even after he hit on you like that," he looked at Nacari. Nacari looked away and hugged herself.

"I just remembered when I found out my big brother was dead, I wished someone would comfort me like that," she sighed and gave Dante a sideways glance, "My father said he was weak, the weak must die so that the strong can thrive," she turned and had her back to Dante. Dante looked at her with concern. She seemed very distraught and sad. He reached out for her. She turned around and he quickly lowered his arm. She gave him a sad smile.

"I'm just glad I didn't see my brother die," she looked down. Dante shoved his hands into his pockets and also looked down. Nacari sighed and looked up.

"I'm going to take a shower," she left and walked up the stairs. Dante watched her disappeared down the hallway. He ran a hand through his hair and walked over to his desk. He picked up the picture of his mother. She looked so different compared to Nacari, but they had the same thing in their eyes; love, trust, and innocence. That's what made them both beautiful. Dante stroked his mother's face.

_'Hey! It's Dante and Vergil, the silver haired freaks!' a kid called as Dante and his twin brother Virgil approached the school yard. Everyone turned and watched as they walked up with their heads down trying to avoid their gaze. Someone threw a stone at Dante's head. Dante began crying and Virgil gave him a hug. He toke Dante's hand and ran into the building. They ran into the bathroom._

_ 'Dante, you can't let them see you cry!' Virgil scolded. Dante began sobbing harder._

_ 'But Virgil. . .why do they hate us? What did we do wrong?' Dante asked. Virgil shrugged and wiped a tear from Dante's cheek._

_ 'Come on Dante, stop crying. We're going to be ten years old soon, and we need to show Ma that we can be the men of the house and take care of her, ok?" Virgil said to Dante. Dante wiped the tears away and nodded. Virgil toke Dante's hand and they went into the classroom._

_ When they went home they threw themselves into Eva's arms and Dante began crying again. _

_ 'What is wrong, Dante?' Eva asked in her sing-song voice. Dante was sobbing too hard to answer. _

_ 'Someone threw a rock at him, Ma,' Virgil said. Eva stroked both her children affectionately. _

_ 'Why do they hate us Ma?' Dante asked through sobs. Eva hugged the boys harder and looked at them._

_ 'They don't hate you. They are just doing what their parents are doing, hating people who are different and things they can't explain,' she stoked Dante's hair._

_ 'They don't even hate you, they hate me," she said. Dante and Virgil looked at each other in confusion._

_ 'Why do they hate you Ma?' Virgil asked. Eva held both her boys and just continued stroking their hair._

_'I'll explain it when you are older,' she said. _

"AAAAHHHHHHH!" Dante was drawn out of his memories by the sound of Nacari screaming.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Dante flew up stairs. Nacari was still screaming. Patty was outside the bathroom door trying to get in. She turned to Dante.

"Dante, you have to help her, I don't know what's wrong!" Patty said franticly. Dante tried to open the door but it was locked. He started hitting the door with his shoulder. After two tries he managed to break through the door. Steam came pouring out of the bathroom and the shower was still running.

Dante threw the shower curtain open. Nacari had her eyes closed tight and pressed up into the corner of the shower. She hugged herself and whimpered. She was shivering despite the warm water splashing against her body. Her hair enveloped her body like a security blanket. Dante's heart hurt seeing Nacari like this. She looked like a scared child.

"Nacari. . ." Dante called her name soothingly. She opened her eyes, they were wild with fear. She looked over at Dante and sobbed. She threw herself at him. Dante cringed as her wet body pressed up against his.

"Dante! Dante!" she cried. She put her arms around his neck and curled up against him. He sat down and she crawled onto his lap. She buried her face in his neck and held tighter. Dante cringed, but then started stroking her wet hair. She was breathing heavily and started crying again. Dante maneuvered himself so he could take off his coat and draped it over her shoulders. She still held onto him for life but she stopped crying.

"Oh Dante, I had a terrible dream, oh Dante. . ." she shivered and pressed up tighter against him. He didn't know how to comfort her, so he just continued stroking her head. Her breathing returned to normal and she stopped shivering. He continued stroking her hair and still held her in his lap. She looked up at him. Her eyes were bloodshot and dilated. Her face was pale and her lips radiated red against her white complexion. She pressed her cheek against his chest and sighed.

"I'm sorry. . ." she whispered hoarsely. She let go of Dante's neck and wrapped his coat tighter around her. She looked like a little girl huddled in Dante's coat. She tried to get up but fell. Dante caught her. She looked at him with fear and innocence. Seeing Nacari look at him like that made his heart beat two times faster. She hugged him and sighed.

"I'm sorry Dante," she whispered again. Dante didn't know what to do in the situation.

"It's ok," was all he could think to say. Whatever Nacari dreamt about must have really scared her to make her react like that. She tried to get up again but her knees were trembling so bad she could hardly stand. She put her hand out and used the wall to support her. Nacari looked at Dante sadly, and he stood up. He looked like a giant compared to her hunched form. She smiled wearily.

"Do you mind leaving? I want to change," she whispered. Dante nodded and left the room. Patty looked at Nacari with concern.

"Are you ok Nacari?" she asked. Nacari looked over at Patty as if seeing her for the first time. Her lips moved but nothing came out. Finally she gave up and just nodded. Patty watched as Nacari drop down onto the floor again. Patty made a move towards her, but decided against it. Nacari just looked at the wall blankly. Patty closed what was left of the door and went downstairs. Dante was sitting at his desk. Patty walked up to him and played with her sleeves.

"What do you think happened," she asked solemnly. Dante looked at her and shook his head.

"I don't know," he looked away.

"She told me that she had nightmares, but I thought that was when she was sleeping. Although she did say that sometimes it happens when she is awake. . ." Dante turned back towards Patty.

"I'm worried about her, I only have known her for a week or so, but she is like family by now. . ." Patty looked at Dante desperately.

"It didn't even looked like she recognized me, but she recognized you," she said. Dante leaned back and crossed his arms.

"I don't know what to do for her, if I would have known how much trouble she would be, I would have never said she could be my partner," he said. Patty shook her head.

"You know that's a lie. Dante, I've never seen you look at anyone else the way you looked at Nacari earlier. . ." she said. She twirled a strand of hair and looked at Dante. He looked angry, but didn't deny what Patty just said. Patty walked over to TV and turned it on. An hour past before Nacari came downstairs. She was wearing nothing but an oversized T-shirt that came down to her thigh and Dante's coat. The coat dragged on the floor and the sleeves were too big. She looked cute in a little girl kind of way. Dante's heart beat faster at the sight of her.

"I'm sorry about earlier, I must have fallen asleep. Heheh. . ." she said weakly. Patty looked over at her.

"Are you ok Nacari? We were worried about you." Patty said. Nacari gave her a weary smile. She had bags under her eyes, but other than that she seemed normal.

"I'm fine, just a nightmare is all, didn't mean to get you guys upset," she looked over at Dante and blushed. She toke off his jacket and handed it to him. Her whole face was red and she wouldn't look him in the eye.

"Here, thanks for your coat. I'm sorry about earlier, that must have been awkward for you," she said. Dante blushed and toke the coat and set it down on his desk. It smelled strongly of vanilla and roses. The scent was stuck in his head. Nacari ran her fingers through her hair nervously and sighed.

"It's ok, don't worry about it. I'm glad you're ok," Dante said. Nacari looked at him and smiled. Dante looked away. Nacari hugged herself and looked around. She sat down at the edge of Dante's desk. Dante couldn't help himself as his eyes strayed down to her legs and thighs. They were long and very slender and very pale. He started going up and looked at her arms which were also long and slender. Dante never realized how pale and slender she was. Her hair spread out on his desk and was a beautiful contrast to the gray in his office. He wanted to touch that soft hair one more time. He wanted to touch her four inch long blue tips. Feel her breath against his neck again, and feel her arms around his neck.

"Dante, are you ok?" Nacari asked innocently. Dante shook his head and looked at her.

"What? Oh yeah, I was just thinking about something," he said. Nacari looked at him. He was relieved to see that the fear that was in her eyes was replaced with gentleness. He stared at her face and saw that her hair framed her face beautifully. She gave him a sad smile. Her lips looked like rose petals and her eyes were green and sharp like a thorn. Dante looked away as he heard his heart beat in his ears. Nacari looked away as well. Nobody said anything for a while and the only thing that broke the silence was Patty's soap opera on the television. Nacari got up and looked over at Dante.

"I think I might go out for a little while, ok?" she said wearily. Her hand went up to the cross that hung limply on her neck. Dante got up all of a sudden and walked over to her. Nacari looked at him questionably.

"I don't know if it is a good idea for you to go, I'll go with," he said. Nacari shook her head and looked at him innocently. Dante's heart seemed to break at how sorrowful her gaze was.

"I need to be alone," she began. Dante grabbed her shoulders and held her at arm's length. Not roughly, but just enough to get her attention.

"I don't want to leave you alone after what happened," he said sternly. Nacari looked at him innocently and still shook her head. Dante's arms fell to his sides.

"I need to be alone, just walk around, ok?" she asked. Dante looked away.

"Fine," he said emotionless. Nacari looked at him guiltily and walked up the stairs. Dante sat at his desk and began reading. A few minutes later she walked back downstairs. She had her sword over her back and had her hair in a high pony tail. She had her combat boots and a pair of skinny jeans on. She changed her shirt. Dante casually looked over at her and noticed she was wearing the same outfit she wore the night when they first met. He continued reading trying to act like he didn't care if she left. Without looking at him or Patty, Nacari opened the door and left silently.

Patty looked at Dante over the couch.

"Aren't you going to go after her, Dante?" Patty asked. Dante didn't look up.

"Nope," he said nonchalantly. Patty jumped over the couch and walked over to him.

"Dante, she wants you to go after her!" Patty exclaimed. Dante looked at her over his magazine.

"If she wanted me to go, she would have said come with me," he continued reading his magazine. Patty crossed her arms and pouted.

"You're not much of a romantic Dante," she said angrily.

"Wasn't trying to be," he said. Patty turned so her back was to him.

"I just can't believe you can act so cold after what happened earlier," she said. Dante set down his magazine and looked at Patty.

"I was just trying to help her," he said defensively. Patty turned back around and held her fists by her sides.

"Then why didn't you just leave when you saw she was fine? Why did you let her hug you and cry on you, and why did you hold her if you were just trying to help you? You could have left Dante, but you didn't," Patty stated. She flipped her hair and walked away.

"I just don't understand you Dante. One minute you are holding her, the next you are pushing her away," she looked at him, "Make up your mind Dante. Do you just want her as a partner, or something more?" Patty asked and climbed up the stairs. Dante heard her slam the door. Dante looked at his reflection in his mother's picture.

"I don't know what to do," he said to himself solemnly.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Dante stayed there in complete silence for a while. He was curious about what was going on with Nacari and what he could do to help her. . .

_NO, _he thought to himself, _she already made it perfectly clear that she wants to handle this alone, so who am I to deny her what she wants. _Dante felt angry that she didn't want him to go along with her. He had comforted her and then she just shot him down when he wanted to be with her. _I hate women; _he thought to himself bitterly,_ they are way too confusing._ The fact that most of his friends are women was just even more upsetting.

_What are partners for? To help each other Damn it! _The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He grinded his teeth and stood up so fast that the chair fell backwards. He grabbed his jacket. He was going after her and was going to ask her what was up. He stomped toward the door when the phone rang. He wanted to ignore it, but thought maybe it would calm him down a little to talk to someone else. Anyone. He walked over to the phone and picked it up.

"What?" he asked aggressively. He didn't mean to say that, it just came out in his rage.

"Hm, nice to talk to you too Dante," a smooth voice answered on the other line. It was Lady. Dante ran his hand through his hair.

"What do you want Lady?" Dante asked irritably. Lady _tisked_ on the other end of the line.

"That's no way to talk to a friend Dante. Besides, have you forgotten it's payday soon?"she said. Dante sighed and clenched his teeth.

"Lady, as nice as it is to talk to you, I really have more urgent business to take care of then kissing your ass for a few more days to collect some money, ok?" Dante was on the border line of yelling. Lady said nothing for a few minutes.

"Man Dante, you seem in an even worse mood then you usually are, problems in Hell?" she asked. Dante rolled his eyes.

"Oh, and I heard about your new partner," she said skeptically, "I didn't know you were taking anyone as a partner, especially one so wet behind the ears as she is," Lady said. Dante froze for a moment.

"Wait, you know who my partner is?" he asked eagerly.

"Yes," Lady said, "I know almost all demon hunters. Nacari Long is relatively new to the demon hunting scene, and probably the youngest so far, at least that I know of," Lady explained. Dante fixed his chair and sat down.

"Do you know anything else about her?" he asked.

"Nacari Long is from a very prestigious bloodline of hunters. Some say the Long family is descended from the legendary Hellsing bloodline, but no one knows for sure. She is the only surviving member of the Long family if my facts are correct. That's all I know," Lady said. Dante's heart raced at being able to learn more about Nacari's past. He didn't know if she would tell him anymore about her past then she has. Nacari always seems to stop speaking when it comes to her past.

"Lady," Dante began, "can you please do some more research on Nacari? I want to know about her past," he begged. Lady was a little concerned. She has never heard him becoming so interested in any one person, but Nacari is Dante's partner, so Lady understood the sudden interest.

"Ok," she said, "but just because I'm doing this don't think that I'm going to let you slide on payday," she stated.

"Alright, I'll talk to you in a few days, ok?" Before he heard her response, he hung up the phone. The urge to go after Nacari had past, and he just sat there. He leaned back in his seat and propped his feet up. He closed his eyes and thought about the past few hours. Nacari huddled in the corner, her naked body pressed up against his, her eyes staring at him innocently. Her hanging onto him, her breath on him, her head on his chest. The way she fights, looking frightened yet excited and determined at the same time. The way her sword flew and slashed as she struck the demon and the way it glowed when Nacari spoke those words.

His thoughts went to the fight. He thought he had saw Nacari looking at him in concern and confusion. Did she see through his human façade and see the devil under his skin? He shook his head and hoped she just dismissed it. He sighed in content and fell asleep.

Dante was awoken by the sound of the door closing. It was two in the morning and he saw Nacari's figure walking over to the couch. She set the sword down next to the TV and flopped down onto the couch. She was humming or mumbling to herself as she toke off her boots. She toke her hair down and ruffled it.

"About time you got back," Dante said gruffly. Nacari looked over at him.

"You are awake," she said. She got up and walked over to him. She was close enough for Dante to see her face. She had bags under her eyes and they looked tired. She crossed her arms and stared Dante down.

"I was asleep, but you woke me up," Dante said nonchalantly. Nacari looked over her shoulder as if expecting someone, then turned back to Dante.

"I'm sorry, I am rather loud, I will be more quiet next time," she sat on the edge of his desk. He looked away from her.

"Whatever," he said angrily. Nacari seemed to be hurt by his cold behavior. She looked down and sighed. It was silent for a while, nothing breaking the silence. Nacari stole another glance at Dante, who was leaning against the chair with his eyes closed. Nacari turned towards him and looked at him meaningfully.

"Dante, what's wrong with you?" she asked. Dante ignored her. She crosses her arms and just stared at him.

"Dante, why are you ignoring me?" she asked irritably.

"I'm not ignoring you, I simply choose not to answer your questions or acknowledge your presence at this moment in time," Dante grumbled. Nacari rolled her eyes.

"Why is that?" she asked. He resumed ignoring her. She looked around his desk and saw the picture frame. She picks it up gingerly and looked at it strangely. She had pretty blue eyes and beautiful blonde hair. She was a very pretty woman.

"Who is this?" Nacari asked. Dante continued to ignore her. She shook her head and set the picture down.

"I will ask you when you decided to start talking to me again," she said sadly. It was an awkward silence. Nacari began playing with her necklace and began humming a song. Dante opened one eye and looked over at her. She seemed sad but had a smile on her face and her slender fingers traced the design on the cross. Her pale face shined like the full moon in the dim light of the office. Dante looked away. Nacari gave Dante a sideways glance and sighed.

"Come on Dante, what did I do wrong! Why won't you talk to me?" Nacari twirled a piece of her and looked sadly at him. Dante looked away and still wouldn't answer her. Nacari crossed her arms and looked away. She got up and looked at Dante.

"Fine! Don't talk to me! I don't care!" she said. She was obviously upset; she had no idea what she had done to make Dante so mad at her. She crossed her arms and turned so her back was facing him.

"Men, sometimes I just don't understand you," she said. She tapped her finger and tapped her chin.

"True, I've never really lived with a man other then my father and brother, but that's not the point!" She turned so she was facing him again. She leaned over the desk so her face was only inches away from his.

"I don't know what's wrong with you tonight, but you better get over it before I get really mad!" She said aggressively. She slammed her hands on the desk and grabbed her sword.

"I'm going out, and maybe I WON'T COME BACK!" she yelled. She stomped over to the door and slammed it. Patty walked down the stairs. She was rubbing her eyes and yawned.

"What was with the yelling, people are trying to sleep," she said irritably. Dante looked at the door surprisingly and shook his head.

"I don't know exactly what happened," he said. Patty looked at him in confusion.

"What exactly happened down here?" Patty asked. Dante scowled and leaned back in his chair.

"Nothing," he said. Patty looked around in confusion.

"I thought I heard Nacari yelling," she said quietly. Dante didn't look at her. Patty looked at him and shook her head.

"I'm going back to bed," she said hoarsely. She walked back up the stairs and closed the door. Dante leaned forward and watched the front door. _She has to come back in a few minutes, _Dante thought to himself, _she can't stay out all morning. . ._ He was actually confused. How did it start out with him being mad at her and her feeling bad to her being mad at him and him feeling bad?

He waited for a while then went over to the couch and laid down. _She has to come back in an hour or so, _he thought to himself. He closed his eyes and fell asleep.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

"Where the hell is she at?" Dante asked in the morning. Patty was poking a piece of cold pizza and glared at him.

"Maybe if you wouldn't have chased her away last night, she would be here," Patty said. Dante shook his head and looked at her.

"I didn't do anything wrong!" he said defensively. Patty pointed the fork at him.

"Neither did she and you were all mad at her," she said, "maybe if you would have been nicer to her, she is going through a lot," she said. Dante looked over at Patty and snarled.

"What kind of stuff is she going through," he asked. Patty looked over at him angrily.

"She has been having bad nightmares," she looked away and threw her nose into the air.

"I know you just want to see if she is ok, but sometimes girls need to be alone after having a nightmare or something like that," Patty shrugged and flipped her hair.

"Dante, it's nothing against you, she just is the kind of girl that doesn't like to share things with people. She is independent," Patty sighed happily and batted her eyelashes, "she is like Amelia in _Love of the Shore_, a woman who plays hard to get and who is independent and with a mysterious past, and Antonio tries to chase after her but she just gets farther and farther away until Lorenzo, Antonio's twin brother comes into town and now they both chase after her and on episode twenty three they were going to try and persuade her to go out with one and forget the other, then the TV broke and I didn't get to see who Amelia chose," she looked angrily at Dante. Dante looked at her with a confused expression.

"What the hell was the point of the story?" he asked. Patty shrugged and crossed her arms.

"The point is that you should get a new TV so I can tell you the real point of the story!" she toke a bite of the pizza. Dante rolled his eyes and sat down on the couch. He looked at the door hoping she would come in any minute. Patty walked over to him and sat down.

"Staring at the door won't make her come home any faster, give her time, she'll show up when she doesn't want to kill you anymore," Patty said. Dante looked over at her.

"Don't you have somewhere else to be, like I don't know, away from here?" He asked. Patty pouted and left. Dante heard the door open and stood up. It was just Jeremy with a bag of money. Dante sat back down.

"Oh, it's you," Dante said. Jeremy raised an eyebrow.

"Great to see you too," he looked around, "Where is your friend?" he asked. Dante got up and walked over to him.

"Out, is that the money?" Dante asked. Jeremy nodded and handed it to him.

"There is 5,000 dollars here, when are you going to take her out?" he asked. Dante toke the money and sat down.

"Tomorrow I will go look for her, do you have any idea where she could be?" he asked. Jeremy shook his head.

"No, but I can ask around," he said unhappily. Dante nodded and motioned to the door.

"Alright, come in at about seven pm tomorrow with her general location, got it?" he told him. Jeremy nodded and left. Dante ran his fingers through his hair and got up. He couldn't decide whether he should stay here or go looking for Nacari. He sat down and put his head in his hands.

"Where could she be?" he asked himself.

"Right here," a childlike voice said. Dante looked behind him and Nacari was behind the couch. Dante got up and turned to her.

"Where the hell have you been?" he asked. Nacari flipped her head and winked at him.

"I climbed up on the roof, just to look at the stars. Well imagine my surprise when I discovered that the stupid city lights are too bright to see the stars," she said unhappily, "I remember I used to sit on the roof with Iris and we would look at the constellations and make up our own stories to go with them," she smiled happily at the memory. She climbed over the couch and sat next to Dante. His heart began beating faster as their arms touched. She put her hair behind her ears so Dante could see a perfect silhouette of her face.

"Like for the constellation Draco, we imagined it was Largamith and that me and her were facing it. She had her whip Nebula and I had my sword Rose's Thorn and we were battling it to save Morgon, the cutest boy in town, and we fought it. For seven days and seven nights until finally we fought it so hard it died of exhaustion and then Morgon was free and me and Iris married him and she had a little girl named Airabella and I had a baby boy named Rowan and then they went on to become the world's best demon hunters," she smiled sweetly at the fond memory. Dante half smiled at her happiness. She looked over at him and her eyes were sparkling with excitement. He blushed at the way she was staring at him.

"It's so funny the things we did as children," she said. She smiled sleepily then became serious and stood up.

"That's right, I was pissed off at you!" she picked up a couch cushion and threw it at him.

"Jerk!" she said angrily. Dante put his hands up defensively then looked at her with confusion. She shrugged and sat back down.

"That's ok, I forgive you now," she looked over at him and winked, "Once you throw something at someone, you forgive them. Just how life works I guess," she sighed and put her feet up on the TV.

"So, our first fight. I wasn't expecting to have our first fight for another few days, but hey, whatever!" she said excitedly. She looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"So, why weren't you talking to me last night," she asked. Dante was relieved to see that she was back to normal. He shrugged.

"Well, I was worried about you, you were looking pretty rough, so I just," he looked down. She cocked her head.

"You were ignoring me because you were worried about me?" she asked. Dante didn't answer. She rolled her eyes and pulled a stray hair. He jumped and looked at her. She smirked at him.

"You are so weird," she said. Nacari hugged him and buried her face in his neck. Dante was shocked by the sudden show of emotion.

"That's ok, I think it won't affect our working relationship," she looked up at him and smiled. Dante blushed and looked away. Nacari let go of him and got up. She looked over at him and smiled.

"Sorry for worrying you last night," she said. Dante looked over at her chuckled.

"I wasn't worried," he said. Nacari pulled another stray hair and looked him in the eye.

"That's not what Patty told me," she said. Dante looked at her questionably. Nacari shrugged.

"Patty saw me climbing up the fire escape and I asked her not to tell you I was here. This morning she told me you were worried about me so I came down after Jeremy left," she said. She smiled at him and sighed.

"It's sweet of you to worry about me Dante, but I'm a big girl and I can take care of myself," she gave him another wink, "You should worry about yourself tough guy. I need to go change, be right back!" she said happily. Dante watched her as she climbed the stairs and walked into the bathroom. Dante smiled a little.

"What have I gotten myself into, the girl is insane," he said to himself with a chuckle.

"I HEARD THAT!" Nacari yelled from the bathroom. Dante shook his head and smiled.

(Authors note; _Love of the Shore_ is not a real show. Patty likes soap operas but you know how those lousy copyrights get in the way, so I just decided to make my own. If it is a real show, then I'm screwed and I don't own that. I hope that you are enjoying the story so far guys!)


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Jeremy looked at Dante nervously. They were in the industrial part of the city, in an abandoned factory to be exact. Jeremy twisted his shirt and gulped. His teeth were chattering when he spoke.

"A-A-A-re you sh-sh-sh sure that this is a g-g-g good idea?" he asked. Dante nodded. Nacari was looking around at the factory. It was a pretty dumpy place. She looked at Jeremy and smiled.

"Don't worry Jeremy, we will take care of her pronto!" she winked at him. He gave her an uneasy smile. Dante motioned to a stack of abandon crates.

"Are you sure you saw her following you on your way here?" Dante asked skeptically. Jeremy nodded feverishly.

"I would recognize that hag from anywhere! It was defiantly her!" he said angrily. Dante nodded and turned to Nacari.

"We are going to hide behind those crates," he said to her. Nacari nodded and slung her sword over her shoulder.

"I know, we went over the plan before we got here," she said. They walked over to the boxes and crouch. They did not have to wait long for the demon to come. She walked into the factory and had an evil smile on her face.

"Oh, Jeremy, my goodness I haven't seen you for ages," she said in a seductive voice. Jeremy began shaking. She walked up to him and put her finger under his chin and lifted it up.

"This is going to be fun," she whispered in his ear, "didn't your mom tell you never to spy on other people?" As she was talking, her teeth formed into fangs and greenish scales began covering her body. Her nails grew longer and her legs disappeared and were replaced with a snake's tail. She toke Jeremy by the throat and laughed. The she-demon picked Jeremy up and threw him across the room. He landed in a pile of crates. She hissed and began to go after Jeremy when a gunshot echoed in the building.

Dante was smiling as Nacari drew her sword.

"Didn't your mother teach you that you shouldn't kill people?" Dante asked mockingly. The she-demon snarled and pointed a disfigure finger at him.

"What are you doing here?" she asked with venom dripping in her voice. Dante smirked and toke both guns out.

"I'm here to exterminate an infestation," he said. She growled and threw herself and him. Dante started firing shots but she managed to bite his arm. He pistol whipped her and she fell off. He held his arm and began firing with his good one. She snarled and hissed at him. He ran at her while shooting. Nacari ran over to Jeremy and helped him up.

"Are you ok?" she asked. Jeremy nodded then opened his eyes. They were pure white.

"I'm better then ok," he said evilly. He held an iron rod in his hands and hit Nacari with it. She fell to the ground at the same as Dante did. Nacari's vision was blurry from the blood gushing into her eyes. She wiped the blood off just in time to see Jeremy swinging the rod at her again. She dodged the blow and raised her sword.

"Jeremy, what is wrong with y-"she began but heard a ripping sound as a bullet tore into her shoulder. She cried out in pain and turned around. Dante was holding his smoking gun and was smiling. His eyes were exactly like Jeremy's. She looked at Dante and then felt a sharp pain in her neck. She felt herself fall onto the cold floor. She spat up blood and felt her world begin to spin. She heard heavy footsteps as Dante walked toward her. Her head was pounding and her shoulder was beginning to go numb. She fought to stay conscious as she saw Dante's boots appear in front of her. She swallowed the bile raising in her throat the struck Dante in the shins with her sword. He fell down with an _oof! _Nacari swung her sword again and hit Jeremy in the groin. He fell as well.

Nacari scrambled up and heard the hideous laughing of the demon. She was grinning ear to ear. Nacari glared at her then turned to the boys. They were beginning to get up. _What was that spell, what was that SPELL! _Nacari searched her mind for the correct spell. She toke the sword in both hands, aimed it at the boys and spread her feet apart. She closed her eyes. _If there is a God, please make this WORK! _Nacari opened her eyes and they were literally glowing a neon green.

"_CONSTRINGERE!" _she cried. Her sword began glowing as forgotten ropes and steel cords began moving towards Dante and Jeremy. They stood up and growled at Nacari. They started running towards her but they fell as the cords began wrapping around their feet. Dante tried to shoot at her but his hands became bound as ropes wrapped around his hands and torso. They were struggling to escape, but to no avail. Nacari sighed and turned to the demon.

"My, I have never seen a witch hunting demons before," she said with much interest. Nacari chuckled.

"Guessed you've never seen the show_ Charmed_ before have you?" she asked. The creature looked at her in confusion. Nacari shook her head and frowned.

"Damn it, I'm starting to sound like Dante," she said and flipped her head, "and I'm hardly a witch, but I am you death!" Nacari charged at her and swung her sword. The blade met the demons stomach but only grazed it. Nacari began breathing heavily and she began getting dizzy again. Her heart was beating in her ears as she glared at her. The demon roared in pain. She hissed and dove for Nacari. She slammed into her and Nacari went flying. As Nacari landed on the concrete floor her breath rushed out of her lungs.

She clambered onto her knees as she tried to catch her breath. Tears were streaming from her eyes as she got back on her feet. She turned just in time to see the demon rushing at her and jumped out of the way. The creature ran head first into the wall and roared. She turned back to Nacari, her mouth foaming with venom and her tongue flailing angrily. Nacari began panting as blood flowed heavily from her wounds. She looked the blood that streamed onto her lips. She charged and slashed her sword and made contact with the end of the demons tail and cut it clean of. The demon roared and spat venom at Nacari. As the venom hit Nacari's arm she felt the pain shoot up. She cried out in pain but kept her position.

As the demon charged at her a trail of blood followed. Nacari ran towards the demon and the crashed into each other. The demon tried to bite Nacari and Nacari tried to cut her. Nacari saw that her spell was wearing off and the boys were starting to break free. Her heart was beating faster and faster as she struggled with the demon. The creature managed to constrict Nacari with her tail. Nacari tried to break free but the creatures grip was like steel. Nacari closed her eyes as her torso was being squeezed. Her breath came quicker and shallower as the grip on her was tightened. She had to do something quickly or else her bones would become paste. She struggled to get her arms free, but the shoulder with the bullet wound was pulsating with pain with the pressure and the struggling. Nacari managed to get her arm free and threw the sword. The sword hit the demon in the forehead. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head and her grip weakened dramatically. Both of them fell to the floor. The demon began convulsing and her wound foamed.

Nacari was taking deep breaths and trying to stay conscious. The adrenaline rush was gone and the pain was more severe now. Her head was pounding and her vision was swimming. She could almost could fell the cups of blood flowing out of her body. She lay on the ground, her eyelids growing heavy. Nacari saw Dante break free and helped Jeremy. She couldn't see if they were back to normal or still under that weird spell or whatever it was. She saw the blurry figures draw near and felt herself being lifted. The blood was beginning to fall into her eyes again and she closed them. She felt a rough hand wipe the blood of her face and half opened her eyes. Dante was running with her, where he was going she didn't know.

"Dante . . ." she whispered. Dante looked down at her and said something, but she didn't know what he said. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against his chest. She could hear his heart beating and sighed. It sounded so peaceful and serene. She felt herself going and sighed. She let herself be consumed by the darkness that she was trying so hard to keep at bay.

(Authors Note; I don't own the show _Charmed_. This fight scene is kind of lame, but I will try to make a more interesting fight scene in the future. Hope you are enjoying the story guys! 3)


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Dante was running faster than he ever ran before. He tried talking to Nacari, but she never answered. He could vaguely remember what had happened during the fight, but some things were a blur. He had no idea why he blacked out like that, but he couldn't worry about that right now. He has to help Nacari. She was moaning in her sleep and began shivering. He tried to keep the blood out of her face, but as soon as he got rid of the old blood new blood covered her face. Her breathing became quicker and shallower and her shaking became more severe. Dante held her tighter and quickened his pace.

The hospital was on the other side of the city. He was a fast runner, but he didn't know if he could run fast enough to the hospital to save Nacari. _Please be ok Nacari, PLEASE! _Dante pleaded franticly in his head. She fluttered her eyes open a little and looked at him. Her eyes were foggy and the only color on her face was that of the drying blood. She put a hand on his chest.

"Dante . . . where are you taking me?" she asked in a small and hoarse voice. Dante looked down at her in surprise.

"NACARI! Are you ok?" he asked. Nacari blinked at him and sighed.

"No, I can't feel my chest, and my shoulder has a hole in it," she said sleepily, "and I am tired," she began closing her eyes but Dante shook her.

"NO! You can't fall asleep yet, you have to stay awake until we reach the hospital," he said urgently. Nacari liked at him in confusion.

"Ok, I won't fall asleep, but I can wal- . . ." she closed her eyes tightly then opened them again.

"I can walk myself . . ." she said. Dante looked at her like she was crazy and shook his head.

"Shut up, I am not letting you walk on your own, you can't even keep your eyes open!" he said aggressively. Nacari closed her eyes and cuddled up against him. Dante's heart began beating faster from the pace he was running and with Nacari's closeness.

"Dante, why did you shoot me?" she asked in a hushed voice. Dante looked at her in confusion. He tried to remember what had happened, but he could only remember certain things, like the demon biting him, him collapsing, him and Jeremy being tied up, Nacari being squeezed by the demon . . . Dante shook his head.

"I didn't shoot you," he said defensively. Nacari looked up at him, her eyes still looking cloudy and blank. Dante wiped some blood and hair out of her face gently. He started sprinting faster. Nacari looked up at Dante and moaned.

"Dante, my head hurts a little now. Can we go home now? I need to take an aspirin," she whispered hoarsely. Dante scowled at her.

"Hell no, we are not going home! You need an emergency room and doctor, you've lost a lot of blood," Dante said angrily. Nacari shook her head and moaned.

"I just need a few aspirins and an ice pack; I am fine, just a cut here and there, and some bruises. I am fine Dante, really, and besides you need to go home and wash your coat because it smells like blood," Nacari argued with him. Dante scowled and looked down at her.

"Shut up before I drop you. I don't care about my coat; I need to make sure you are all right!" He said. Nacari looked at him with tenderness and gave him a half hearted smile.

"Dante, no matter what everyone says, you really are a good guy . . . when you want to be anyway. Oh and Dante . . ." Nacari looked down and would have been blushing if she could.

"You have the prettiest eyes I have ever seen. They look like blue ice, but they are warm too. You have to look hard enough to see it though," she whispered happily. Dante looked down at her in surprise and concern.

"You must have lost a lot of blood to be talking like that, just shut up; we'll be at the hospital any minute. You will be fine, I promise, and then we can go home, you WILL be fine!" Dante said reassuringly. Nacari closed her eyes again and moaned. Dante saw the hospital up ahead and began sprinting even faster. Dante looked down to see if Nacari was ok and saw she was had fallen unconscious again. He tried shaking her but to no avail. A small trickle of blood came flowing out of her mouth. Dante started getting really worried and burst into the hospital door. The people looked up, a large receptionist, a woman holding her hand missing a finger, a boy throwing up, and a young couple who was having a baby. They all looked at the silver haired boy holding the dying girl. He walked to the receptionist, breathing deeply and sweating.

"We need a doctor! We need a DAMN DOCTOR!" he screamed at the receptionist. She dropped her half eaten jelly donut and stared at him.

"I-I-I'm sorry young man, but you have to wait . . ." she said nervously. Dante snarled at her and got up in her face.

"I AM NOT WAITING HERE WILL MY PARTNER IS DYING YOU BITCH!" he screamed at her. He walked over to the doors and kicked them open. Dante looked down the corridor for a doctor or room. He spotted a female nurse and ran up to her.

"Please, please help my partner, I'm begging you! She's lost a lot of blood, please help her!" Dante pleaded with the nurse. Her eyes became wide at the sight of the limp body dangling in his arms. She nodded vigorously.

"Alright, I'll get Dr. Ross, just please stay here and keep calm!" She rushed away and Dante was left holding Nacari. She was looking more and more sickly as the cups of her blood began flowing out of her. Dante was stroking her hair and whispering to her.

"Don't worry Nacari, don't worry, I got someone to help you, don't worry Nacari . . ." Dante said to her. He wiped the blood streaming down her chin and continued stroking her hair. The nurse came running back to Dante with other nurses wheeling a cot and a middle aged woman wearing a doctor's coat. The nurses yanked Nacari from Dante's iron grip and placed her on the cot and began wheeling her away. Dante followed them to the very last room. The moved her onto the bed.

"Bring some IV's and a few blood bags and hook her up to a heart monitor," the doctor ordered the nurses. The female nurse shook her head and looked at the doctor guiltily.

"We don't know her blood type . . ." she said. The doctor turned to her with venom in her stare.

"Then get all the bags, I don't care, she has lost at least four or five pints of blood, we need to act fast!" The doctor said urgently. Dante's heart began beating faster and faster as the nurses hooked her up to IV's and the heart monitor. They brought out some blood bags and hooked them up to the IV's.

"Start with the AB negative, so we can get that out of the way," the doctor said hastily. A male nurse stuck the needle into her arm. He watched her for several seconds.

"She is not having a negative reaction, but we don't have much more of this blood type!" he said urgently. The doctor nodded.

"I know," she said. All of a sudden the heart monitor spiked. The female nurse felt her pulse and looked nervously at the doctor.

"She is going into hypovolemic shock doctor, what should we do?" the nurse asked nervously. Dante looked at the doctor with a look of concern.

"What the hell is happening?" he asked. The doctor looked at him as if seeing him for the first time.

"You cannot be in here sir," she said sternly. Dante looked at her with content and scowled.

"I will not leave my partner!" he said aggressively. Just then two police officers busted into the room and the receptionist was behind them.

"There he is," she said pointing a finger at Dante. The guards grabbed him but he shook them off of him. As they went to get him again, Nacari's heart spiked once again and then became a flat line. Dante's eyes became wide.

"NACARI!" Dante screamed her name. The guards grabbed him again but he kicked one in the groin and punched the other one and went over to Nacari. Blood had started trickiling down her chin again and her chest wasn't moving. He lost his breath as he saw her motionless body so white against the blue sheets.

"GET ME THE PADDLES!" the doctor demanded. Dante felt himself being dragged away by the male nurse.

"You need to leave now sir," he said. Dante tried to break free but found his strength had left him.

"Nacari . . . I . . ." the last thing he saw as he was being dragged out was the doctor rubbing the paddles together.

"Clear!" she yelled as a nurse ripped open Nacari's shirt and bra and pressed the paddles onto her chest.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Dante felt himself being dragged into the waiting room. In his mind, he was killing everyone in his way, but he couldn't really move. Nacari's unmoving face was the only thing in his mind. At the thought of Nacari being in there alone with no one she knew was just too much for him. He broke away from the male nurse and ran back down the hallway. The male nurse ran after him and grabbed Dante's arm.

"Sir please, you cannot go in there until we know the patient is stable . . ." he tried reassuring Dante. Dante turned around and slammed the nurse into a wall and grabbed his neck, his eyes were burning with hate.

"Your Damn doctors better save her, or I will kill all of you," he tightened his grip on the poor boys neck, "You. Better. Save. Her." He growled through clenched teeth. The nurse nodded and Dante dropped him.

"I am waiting right here, go in there and save my partner," Dante said. The nurse was shaking in fear at Dante and ran into the room. Dante began pacing through the hall way. He was not sure how much time has passed, but he hoped Nacari was going to be ok. His heart began beating viciously as he waited for the news on Nacari. He got more concerned with each passing second. He snarled to himself as he thought about what happened.

_DAMN IT! I should have been there to help her; she had taking care of that demon by herself, she wasn't ready. What the hell happened to me! _His concern and guilt built up inside him until he felt like he was about to burst.

"ARGH!" he yelled as he punched the wall and put a hole in it. He growled as he saw the receptionist come up. She snarled at him and poked him in the chest.

"You are going to be in a lot of trouble! I have called the police and they will arrest you for trespassing, assault and anti social behavior!" she said angrily. Dante looked at her with contempt then chuckled. Her face became redder and snarled.

"WHAT is so FUNNY?" she asked aggressively. Dante chuckled to himself and gave her an evil smile.

"If these cops are going to be as lame as those security guards were, I will destroy them," he said calmly but with anger seeping into his voice. The receptionists face became a dark red shade as the door from Nacari's door opened up. The middle aged doctor was standing at the doorway and toke off her bloody gloves and looked at the two. She closed the door behind her and glared at the receptionist.

"What seems to be the problem Nancy?" she asked. Nancy the receptionist patted her short frizzy hair and glared at Dante.

"This young man was trespassing, threatening to destroy some people, beating people up and called me a bitch!" she said sadly. The doctor looked at the receptionist with contempt.

"Why did he trespass?" she asked. The receptionist looked at the doctor like she was stupid.

"He busted into the emergency ward when I told him he had to wait, there were other patients and I can't play favorites . . ." she looked uneasily at the doctor as the doctor looked at her with rage.

"We have five open rooms, why are there people waiting when we have rooms for them?" she asked calmly but had rage in her eyes. The nurse squirmed under her strong gaze.

"I was on my lunch break," she said ashamed. The doctor toke a deep breath.

"As people were very injured and may in fact be dying, your lunch time was more important than another human beings life. You can eat your lunch anytime, but the people only have so much time to get help. I want you to go in there and get those people rooms and the cops who are on their way you will have to send back and apologize because you are not doing your job. Then pack up your stuff and leave," the doctor said emotionlessly. The doctor turned towards Dante and motioned for him to follow her. She began walking away as Nancy stared at the doctor wide eyed. Dante smirked contently at the woman's expression.

"Now, I need to get a drink, but your friend should be fine," the doctor said and looked at Dante.

"I am Hera Ross; you can call me Dr. Ross or Hera I don't care. I am so glad I fired her; she was so lazy and was just a big brat, though beating someone is a very serious offensive," she winked at Dante, "however, I am very glad you told her off," she said. Dante walked in front of her and stopped. The doctor looked at Dante.

"What happened to my partner?" Dante asked urgently.

"She went into hypovolemic shock and had been severely poisoned by an unknown source, but she should be ok. Those are the main contributions to her death," she said. Dante grabbed the doctor by the shoulders.

"I THOUGHT YOU SAID SHE WAS FINE!" he yelled. The doctor looked at him and sighed.

"She is fine, she was pronounced legally dead for only one minute and thirty two seconds but then we managed to bring her back. She will be fine, but she does have a minor concussion, three cracked ribs, two broken ribs and she will need to go into surgery soon to remove the bullet lodged into her scapula," she said. She placed Dante's hands down to his sides and walked around him. Dante followed her and scowled.

"That doesn't sound like she will be fine!" he said stubbornly. Dr. Ross looked at him and crossed her arms.

"How old are you?" she asked. Dante looked at her skeptically.

"Twenty five . . ." he said. The doctor nodded and continued walking.

"I am fifty, so I have had more experience then you do. Besides, I have had patients in worse situations then your friend," she said. She reached a water fountain and toke a drink then began walking back to Nacari's room. They reached her room and Dr. Ross turned to Dante.

"I am going to prep her for surgery. The surgery may take one to five hours depending on if we reach any complications, but it is a simple procedure. You should go home and change. You can come back as soon as you get changed and take a shower," she said calmly. Dante towered over her and shook his head.

"I am not leaving until I know for sure she will be ok," he said. Dr. Ross smirked at him then shrugged.

"Alright, it's your choice, but you will here for a while," she said. Dante nodded.

"Oh, and Dr. Ross, you better be careful with her, she is very delicate, and if you do hurt her, I might have to rip your arm off," he said seriously. The doctor chuckled and looked over at Dante.

"No offense, but you don't seem like the type to be formal, so call me Hera. It would sound better if you said Hera instead of Dr. Ross," she smiled and walked into the room and closed the door. Dante sat on the floor outside of the door and stared at the door. He sighed.

_You are WAY more trouble then you are worth Nacari . . . _he thought to himself. He sighed again and held his head in his hands.

_If she wasn't worth it you would have left her to die, _a voice inside of his head said. Dante nodded in agreement. After almost losing her, Dante might actually have feelings for her other then partnership or even friendship . . .

_(Author's Note; I actually don't know exactly how old Dante is, hehe ^/^ . . . I like 20-25 year olds so I wanted Dante to be around that age. Hey don't judge me it's a fan fiction. I am also sorry if the story has been going a little slow, I actually hit a writer's block so my story might seem a little bad. I am really happy that you guys are reading my story and I hope you are enjoying it! 3) _


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

Dante had fallen asleep outside of Nacari's door. He didn't know when he had fallen asleep, but he knew he had been asleep for a few hours when Hera woke him up. When Hera kicked his leg, he stirred awake and looked up at her. She wore surgical scrubs covered in blood and wore a hair net of sorts, but she had removed her gloves and surgical mask.

"So much for waiting up for your friend, huh?" she asked him. Dante rubbed his eyes and looked up at the doctor. He stood up and leaned against the wall as he faced her.

"Is she ok?" he asked somberly. She nodded and motioned for him to follow her.

"Yes, she is fine. We actually got her a legitimate room instead of an emergency ward one, so she is on the second floor. She woke up a few minutes ago according to my intern who is keeping tabs on her. She was actually asking about you, or someone like you. Is your name Lance, by any chance?" she asked him. He looked at her puzzled and shook his head. The doctor looked confused herself.

"Really, because she was calling out to a Lance in her sleep, and when she woke up and my intern asked who Lance was, she looked confused and said she didn't know a Lance. Well, I am glad that you are not Lance so she wouldn't forget who you are, but you better see if she is ok so you can take a shower, because you stink," the doctor smiled and motioned an elevator.

"Her room is number eighty seven. Good luck, I have other patients, but it was nice meeting you," she smiled and shook his hand. Dante nodded to her and walked into the elevator. He walked through the corridor until he saw room number eighty seven. He opened the door and saw her propped up in her bed. She wore a nightgown that was too big for her and had a bandage around her head and a bandage wrapped around her shoulder and chest all the way to her stomach. Her lips burned red against her pale skin, but she was beginning to get color back into her cheeks. Her hair was splayed across her pillows and mattress as she looked out the window overlooking the city streets. Dante walked in and stood in the door way unsure what to do. Nacari slowly turned towards Dante and gave him a half smile.

"Where the hell have you been?" she asked half heartedly. Dante flinched but then walked closer.

"How are you feeling?" he asked somberly. Nacari shrugged and looked down at her nails. IV's were sticking out of her wrists and arms and her veins stuck out blue against her pale skin. She looked so much paler then she normally does, but she has more color then she did the last time he saw her.

"I actually can't feel anything and these pills they gave me make me high off my ass. That is probably why I can't feel anything. So, where is my sword?" she turned to him again and looked at him exceptionally. He turned away from her and rubbed his neck

"I think Jeremy got it . . ." he said quietly. Nacari looked at him then scowled.

"Why the hell does that loser have my sword!" She yelled. Dante flinched away from her and shrugged.

"I asked him to take it back to the shop while I got you help. It should be there by now," he said. Nacari scowled and picked up a pillow and slugged it at him. Dante ducked down and looked at her in confusion.

"How could you let him take my sword? How could you let my sword fall in the hands of a bumbling fool like him?" she shrieked. She toke her second pillow and threw it at him. Dante caught it and scowled at her.

"I would rather help you then grab a sword!" he said to her aggressively. Nacari slammed herself down on her bed and pressed her hands against her eyes.

"I would rather have you take the sword and leave me then to have you take me and give my sword to someone like Jeremy," she said unhappily. Dante rolled his eyes then walked over to her bed. He fluffed her pillow, propped her head up then placed it under her head. Dante brushed her hair from her face then lingered at the bandage on her head. She looked at him through her fingers. He looked at her then turned away.

"Don't slam yourself down like that again, you have a lot of injuries and I don't want you to hurt yourself," he said to her gently. She propped herself up and looked at him.

"I told you that I don't really feel anything," she said quietly. Dante sat in a chair across from Nacari and they sat in silence for a while. She gazed out the window and Dante gazed at her. Color had returned to her cheeks, but it was more of a flushed color then a healthy one. Her strength was coming back, but slowly and at a tiresome rate. She turned to Dante slowly and gave him a little smile.

"Are you going home?" she asked. Dante looked at her then shrugged.

"I don't know . . . maybe later, depends on how you are feeling," he said. Nacari looked at him then pulled a strand from her hair and sighed.

"You should go home, don't worry about me. You need a shower and I want you to make sure my sword is home and I want you to bring me a change a clothes. Oh, and I want to make sure Patty is ok. She has been alone for a day or two, so she needs to be taken care of, and don't get her pizza, get her something nice, like a burger or something," she yawned and closed her eyes.

"Now, I am exhausted so I am going to take a nap," she opened an eye and shook a finger at him.

"Dante, you better be out of here before I wake up, or else I am going to go home myself," she said mockingly. He rolled his eyes and walked up to her. He pulled her sheet up and checked her monitors. She closed her eyes and sighed contently. Dante smiled a little and patted her hand.

"I will wait until you fall asleep then I will leave, ok?" he said to her. She nodded and toke a deep breath. He stroked her hair then dragged the chair next to her and sat down. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. He waited there a few minutes but she seemed to be fast asleep. He really didn't want to leave her, but he knew she would be pissed off if he didn't go so he decided he would stay a few more minutes then he would leave. He continued stroking her hair until he heard her breathing deepen then he toke his leave. It didn't take him long to reach Devil May Cry from the hospital, but he speed walked the way there so he could get back to Nacari.

He walked into the shop and checked around. Thankfully, Nacari's sword was on his desk, but his cash was missing and it was replaced with a file. He looked around and opened up the file. There was a note in there;

_Dante,_

_I came by but no one was here except for Patty, so I toke it upon myself to call Morrison to watch her for a while and take her out and I toke take the money you were recently paid to pay off some of your debt. Here is the file you wanted on Nacari Long, I couldn't really find a lot, but I'll keep looking, it really has me intrigued now._

_-Lady_

Dante sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He picked up the file and looked at it intrigued. He picked up the papers in the file and looked at them. He looked around nervously then opened the first page. It was a picture of a family; the father, the mother, a boy about sixteen holding his hand on his mother's shoulder, a little girl about six sitting on her mothers lap, and a girl and boy holding hands standing in front of their father with one strong hand on each of the kids shoulders. The father had blonde hair with piercing gray eyes and looked to be about late thirties or early forties, the mother had black curls and gentle brown eyes looked to be the same age as the father, the sixteen year old had the same eyes and hair color as his father but had his long hair in a ponytail, the little girl had short red hair in pig tails and the same eyes as her mother with a gap in between her front teeth, but his gaze lingered on the two other children. The girl had raven black hair reaching to the ground and beautiful green eyes and the boy had the same looks but with short wiry hair. The girl was smiling and clutched her brother's hand affectionately. The boy was holding his sister's hand with the same amount of affection but seemed to have a look of disgust at the hand on his shoulder.

Dante turned the picture around and looked at the words on the back. The picture had been taken about ten or twelve years ago. He read the list of names with peaking interest; Darren Long, Amanda Long, Arthur Long, Iris Long, Nacari Long and Lance Long. Dante stared at the name Lance Long. Wasn't that the name Nacari was crying in the hospital? Lance Long, Nacari never mentioned him. She had mentioned an older brother dying in a fire, and Dante assumed that the dead brother was Arthur, and Nacari identified Iris by name and said she had died as well. What about Lance? Lance Long? Dante turned the picture back around and looked at the children again. Nacari never mentioned another sibling. Dante looked at the picture with mounting interest. Dante's heart began pounding as he sat down and began reading the second page of the small stack of papers. He was about to learn about Nacari's past and her unknown brother.

_(Author's Note; Hope you guys enjoyed Chapter Thirteen. To be honest, I'm not sure if I am going to continue the story, I got a negative review so that kind of disheartened me, but I will try to continue the story of Nacari and Dante. I am going away for a few days, so if I don't update, it's not because I stopped writing, it's because I don't have a computer. Thank you guys for reading my story and I hope you enjoy it so far!)_


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

The second page was a newspaper article that was printed a few days after the Long family picture was taken. The newspaper article showed a picture of the remains of a charred house. Dante began reading the story with much interest.

_Yesterday evening, a fire broke out on Wolfe Street. The fire burned down the ancestry home of one of Laurel Town's oldest residents, the Long family. The fire was burning from 7:37pm to 8:02pm. The neighbors were alarmed after they heard one of the Long family's children scream. They rushed to the window and saw the old house smoking. They called the fire department and they came a few minutes later to the house quickly burning. The firemen managed to rescue four out of the six people in the house, but could not locate the other two. They quickly put out the fire and then examined the remains of the home. Soon they found the two charred remains of the people who were not rescued in time._

_Darren Long, the head of the household, told officers that he had no idea how the fire started, but officials think there is more to the story and will be investigating the incident. Officers tried to talk to the surviving children, but they would not speak to the police or anyone else. They suffered from minor burns and one needed stitches, but the children seemed to be fine. We cannot release the identities of the two deceased at this time._

That was the first article.Dante turned to the last paper in the file and found it to be another newspaper article for the next day after the fire. The pictures were of Amanda Long and Arthur Long. He began reading again.

_Continuation of yesterday's news. The police department released the identity of the two deceased from the fire that ravaged the Long family's estate two days ago. The deceased were Amanda Long, age forty three and young Arthur Long, who had turned eighteen only a few days before. Amanda Long came from a neighboring village by the name of Salmon Creek and was the only child of Moirés and Abigail Monroe. Her and Darren Long were married when they were both twenty five and were married ever since. _

_Arthur Long was a graduate of Laurel Town High School and was planning on moving to the city in a few days. He was known as a quiet boy in school and wasn't in any sports. Boys told us that he was a very good in gym class and the football couch always asked him to join the team but he had declined because he had to watch his younger siblings while his parents were at work. His friends described him as a responsible boy who was always serious and did very well in school. The funeral for both will be held a week from now._

_The police have declared the fire as accidental. The fire was believed to have been cause by a faulty wire or fuse. This is normal for an older house like the Long estate. Darren Long did not want him or his children to be interview at this time._

Dante reread the articles. Why would the police think that this might not be an accident? Maybe they were excited to have something exciting happen to an ordinarily quiet and uneventful town and expected the worst. Dante looked over at the clock. He had been here for an hour without leaving the chair. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

"I better get back to Nacari," he said to himself. He toke a shower and reran through the articles again in his head. Nacari seemed to have had a bad childhood. Like him. He got out of the shower and dressed. He looked at the clock. He sighed and looked at the file laying flat on his desk. It was looming there foreboding, taunting Dante for digging into Nacari's past without her knowledge.

_While Nacari is in the hospital in pain, you are digging up her past, bringing back even more pain for her, _a voice taunted inside Dante's head. He shook his head then grabbed the folder and slammed it into his desk drawer. He put his coat on and walked out the door.

_(Authors Note; Sorry this chapter is a little shorter than the others. It was just a little bit about Nacari's past, plus I am a little tired so I didn't feel like writing a lot today. It is going a little slow, but I will pick up the pace. Hope you guys are enjoying the story so far! :D)_


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

Dante walked into Nacari's room silently. She was still sleeping, and he was glad. If she was awake, who knows what questions she would pester him with. He sat down and closed his eyes. He was exhausted; taking care of Nacari was a full time job. She had only been his partner for a few weeks, but she was a handful. This was the worst idea Dante had ever had, but he didn't feel as annoyed as he should have. If he really wanted to get rid of her, he would have told her to leave and then slammed the door in her face. He shook his head and sighed.

"Where have you been?" Nacari asked. Dante opened his eyes and looked at her. She was sitting up in bed with a goofy smile on her face. Dante shrugged and crossed his arms

"You told me to go take a shower, so I did," he said. Nacari rubbed her eyes and yawned.

"It takes you about an hour or so to take a shower, Dante? Besides, you still stink, did you where the same outfit you wore three days ago? Dante that is nasty, when I get home I have to wash your outfits and maybe even get you some new clothes," she looked at him and crossed her arms. Dante rolled his eyes and sighed.

"I liked you better when you were sleeping," he said sarcastically. Nacari flipped her head and looked at him with a smirk on her face.

"I wonder how many women told you that," she said. Dante scowled and slouched in his chair. Nacari giggled and started braiding her hair. They were quiet for a while. Dante looked over at Nacari and started thinking about what he had read about. You wouldn't think that she had that kind of tragedy in her life by the way she acted now. Sure sometimes she was sad, but she was witty and nice . . . in a way. She noticed Dante's gaze and focused her attention on him.

"What are you looking at?" she asked. Dante shrugged and smirked.

"Nothing much," he said. Nacari rolled her eyes and blew a strand of hair out of her face.

"That line is so old. You need to get new material," she said. Dante rolled his eyes and scowled.

"As if that 'women' line wasn't as old as dirt," he said. Nacari pushed her bangs out of her eyes and sighed. Dante smiled a little.

"Glad to see you are feeling better Nacari," he said. Nacari smiled at him and blushed.

"Yeah, I am glad too," she said lazily, "ok, so if I am feeling better, do you think they would let me go home?" she asked. Dante shook his head.

"You just got out of surgery a few hours ago, and you lost a lot of blood, and you died," he bit his lip after he said the last part. He didn't know how she would react. Nacari sat up a little straighter and looked at Dante with a sliver of fear on her face.

"What?" she asked. Dante looked away and shrugged. He could feel her gaze on him and tried not to seem bothered by her glare.

"Well, you lost a lot of blood and you had a lot of injuries, but you are fine now, so there is no point in talking about it," he said quickly. Nacari hugged herself and looked at Dante with concern.

"I . . . died?" she whispered more to herself then Dante. Dante flinched at the sad look on her face. He reached his hand out and placed it on her arm. She looked at him and he could see the tears she was fighting back. He patted her arm awkwardly and gave her an uneasy smile.

"It's, um, ok. Don't worry; it wasn't very long time at all. Nothing to worry about, I mean, the doctor said that you would be fine, and I trust your doctor," he said. Nacari looked away then looked back at him. The tears seemed to have gone, but there was still a look of worry and concern on her face.

"I . . . it's kind of hard to believe I died Dante. I mean, you know, I am not ready to die . . . I can't die, I have stuff to do, I mean . . ." she started stammering. Dante patted her arm reassuringly, well, trying to be reassuring. Nacari looked at him and sighed. She lowered her arms and looked out the window. Dante stopped patting her arm, afraid she was going to get uncomfortable. It had started raining lightly. Nacari sighed happily then turned back to Dante. Her face was back to normal and her eyes were gentle. She smiled at him then turned back to the window.

"I love rain," she said quietly. Dante didn't say anything and just looked at her head. She pushed her hair behind her shoulders and laid back down using the pillow as a prop. She seemed to be happy and sad at the same time. Her rigid body became slack as she sighed contently again. Everything was quiet except for the patter of rain against the window.

"When I hear the rain, I get a warm feeling inside. I like the rain more than any other type of weather; it is just so much more relaxing. I like to stand out in the rain sometimes, especially in the summer. The warmth of the air and the cold rain against my skin feels so nice. You ever do that Dante?" she asked without turning to look at him. Dante shook his head.

"I usually try to stay out of the rain if I can," he said. Nacari nodded slowly and didn't say anything for a while.

"I guess that's just a boy thing. You guys can't really appreciate the nice things like that, but that's ok. Not everyone likes the same things," she rubbed her arms as if she felt a sudden chill then yawned.

"The bad part about rain is that it puts me to sleep. It makes me so lazy, that and my drugs are wearing off, so I think I will go back to sleep now," she turned towards Dante and gently laid a hand over Dante's. Dante resisted the urge to flinch away from her icy touch. She looked up at Dante with sorrow and gentleness.

"Will you be here when I wake up?" she asked innocently. Dante opened his mouth then closed it again. He nodded and gave her a little smile. She smiled back and closed her eyes. Dante noticed that her hand was still on his and his heart skipped a beat. He wanted to pull his hand away, but Nacari's touch was soft and gentle. She began breathing deeper and slower. As Dante was looking at her, his thoughts went to what he found out about her past.

She had lost a brother and her mother. _Sounds familiar, _Dante thought to himself. He thought about his own family. He looked out the window dreamily as his mind went back to his childhood . . .

_Dante was staring out the window sadly. It was raining really badly and he wanted to go outside. He sighed unhappily and stuck his tongue out angrily at the rain. Vergil was sitting beside him and sighed too. Dante huffed and crossed his arms angrily._

"_I'm bored!" he said angrily. Vergil looked at him lazily and nodded._

"_I am bored too, but there is nothing to do, so just suck it up and be quiet before I punch you," Vergil turned back to the window. Dante stuck his tongue out at him then sighed again. They were both quiet for a while, the only sound coming from the rain pounding heavily against the window. Vergil looked over at Dante._

"_You want to tell scary stories?" he asked his little brother. Dante nodded enthusiastically. _

"_Ok! I want to go first!" he said happily. Vergil shook his head then crossed his arms._

"_No way, it was my idea, so I am going to be the one to tell it," he said. Dante growled and crossed his arms._

"_You don't even know any scary stories Vergil!" Dante said. Vergil scowled and shook his finger at Dante._

"_Unlike you, I read books, so I know a lot more stories then you" Vergil said mockingly. Dante scowled and looked away._

"_Fine then, tell your stupid story," Dante said. Vergil smirked then both boys turned to each other, the rain against the window giving them weird patterns on their skin. _

"_Ok, here is the story of the Pinke House," Vergil began. Dante scoffed._

"_What kind of scary story has the word pink in it?" Dante asked. Vergil bopped Dante on the head. Dante cried out and rubbed his head. _

"_Don't interrupt me!" Vergil said in an annoyed voice. Dante grumbled to himself but remained quiet._

"_Anyway, this is the story about the Pinke House, named after the owner William Pinke. Him and his wife had moved into the little house and were very happy. One day though, William had to go out of town to visit his ailing mom . . ." _

"_What does ailing mean, Vergil?" Dante asked. Vergil shrugged and pouted._

"_I don't know, probably sad or something, anyway," Vergil cleared his throat then began talking again._

"_William went out of town for a few days, but when he came back he couldn't find his wife anywhere. Rumor around town was that she ran off with the butcher. William was very sad and grew sadder and sadder every day. Finally, he could not stand his loneliness anymore so he killed himself," Vergil said the last line with extra menace. Dante shivered and pulled his knees closer to his chest. Vergil seemed happy with Dante's reaction and continued._

"_When the cops came, they found his body but they also found the body of his wife under the bed . . . DEAD!" Vergil said. Dante whimpered and shivered even harder. _

"_No one knew who killed Mrs. Pinke, but they buried them and the Pinke family was forgotten, until one hundred years later . . ." Dante whimpered and shook his head vigorously._

"_Stop, I don't like this story . . ." Dante said unhappily. Vergil crossed his arms then smirked._

"_I knew you would be too scared to hear the rest of the story," Vergil said mockingly. Dante scowled then slammed his hands down._

"_I am not SCARED!" Dante said angrily. Vergil nodded then bopped Dante on the head again._

"_Good, now shut up so I can continue my story," Vergil cleared his throat again._

"_Anyway, so one hundred years later, a small development grew around the abandoned Pinke House . . ." Dante raised his hand. Vergil rolled his eyes._

"_WHAT?" Vergil asked annoyed. _

"_What is a development?" Dante asked._

"_It is a place a lot of people live in," Vergil rolled his eyes then continued._

"_So, one hundred years later, a group of boys were playing catch outside of the house, but the ball went into one of the broken windows of the Pinke House. The boys were told never to go in the Pinke House because of all the bad stuff that could happen to them, like bug bites and snakes and stuff. One of the boys said that he would go in to get it, but when he went in he didn't come back out. _

"_When it was almost dark, the boys decided that they would go get their friend. They went into the dark house, their hearts pounding in their ears as they walked through the house, every creak and spider web scaring them. The gingerly walked into the hallway and saw the door all the way down the hall. It was opened just a crack, not even the light from the fading sun touched the room. The boys felt an evil in the room, but they wanted to find their friend and their ball, so they walked into the room. The room looked empty except for a rotten dresser and a rotten bed. They looked everywhere but couldn't find anything. One of the boys said they should look under the bed, so they did, and when they did, they saw the dead rotting body of their friend, crawling with bugs and rats through his nose and empty eye sockets!" _

_A sudden bolt of lightning illuminated the room and both the boys screamed. When they opened their eyes, they were in each other's arms shaking like leaves. Dante whimpered, but then smiled. Vergil smiled and laughed. They both started laughing about how scared they were. They laughed until their throats hurt. Dante giggled and smiled._

"_That was a good story, Vergil," Dante said. Vergil smiled ear to ear._

"_Thanks, I read about it, it gave me nightmares," he giggled. Dante giggled too._

"_I think I'm gonna have nightmares!" Dante exclaimed. Vergil nodded in agreement and the boys laughed again as the storm raged outside._

Dante smiled at the memory and soon fell asleep, dreaming about his childhood and dead bodies under beds and listening to the sounds of Nacari's breathing and the rain splattering against the window.

_(Author's Note; Hope you guys enjoyed chapter fifteen! The story The Pinke House is actually a little urban legend told from where I am from. Kids and adults have been telling the story for years. I heard the story when I was in elementary school from the older kids, then when I was older my friends and I told them the story and scared the crap out of our underlings. In fact, my friends and I still tell the story today. Each time there is something a little different added to the story to keep people on their toes. There are actually four different stories about the Pinke house, but the one Vergil told is my favorite one. You can't read the story in any books, so if anyone wants to know the other stories, just tell me! I wanted a happy childhood memory for Dante and Vergil and I know my happy memories were me and my friends trying to scare each other, so I added a little bit of my own memories. I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far!)_


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

Dante began stirring. He didn't know how long he had been asleep, but he did know that his back and neck hurt from sleeping in that chair. He turned to Nacari and stood up. Nacari wasn't in her bed. Dante looked around the room franticly then sighed. Nacari was limply holding onto her IV stand and was looking out the window. The window was open and the rain was pounding against her face.

Dante walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. She slowly turned around and looked at Dante. Her face was white from the freezing rain and her hair stuck to her face creating a black frame around her face. Her dark lashes spread out across her pale cheeks when she blinked. Her eyes seemed to glow against her pale face as she gazed at Dante. Her lips were opened a little and looked like rose petals.

"What?" she asked quietly. Dante looked away then looked back at her. His mouth became dry as he saw Nacari like that but suppressed his feelings. Nacari turned back to the window and smiled a little as the water hit her face.

"You shouldn't be out of bed Nacari," Dante said. Nacari casted a sideways glance at him then focused her attention back to the window. He grabbed her hand that wasn't on the IV and tried to lead her to the bed. She placed a shaky hand on his chest and looked up at him. Her eyes were sad and full of physical pain.

"My pain pills have worn off, please get a nurse and ask for more. I will go back to bed then, I promise, just let me be alone, ok?" She looked down and closed her eyes. She chewed on her lip nervously then looked back at Dante again.

"I had another nightmare, but it wasn't as bad as before, but I just really need to be alone, ok?" she said sadly. Dante grasped the hand lying on his chest and looked at Nacari with concern.

"If you had another nightmare, you should have woken me up," he said tenderly. Nacari looked at him with skepticism.

"Why would I wake you up? It wasn't your concern, so why would I wake you up when you were sleeping soundly. I was the one who had the nightmare, so I'll deal with it by myself," she said hoarsely. Dante looked at her again and place a hand under her chin and lifted her head so she was looking at him.

"Partners are there so they can help each other," he argued with her. She smiled softly and sighed.

"I know, but I need you to get me some more pills and leave me alone, just a while longer. I know you want to help, but I don't need it. Worry about yourself," she let her hand slip from Dante's chest and turned back towards the window. Dante toke a deep breath and shut his eyes. He still couldn't believe Nacari. He had carried her to the hospital and they had been partners for a few weeks, maybe even had gotten close, but she still wouldn't let Dante into her mind. She still kept him away, but he was trying to do the same thing to her and failing. He turned and started walking out.

"I'll go get some pills for you," he said. Nacari continued staring out of the window, not even acknowledging his presence. He lingered in the door way for a while, but then began walking down the hallway. He walked through the almost isolated hospital, trying to find another living soul. He finally found another nurse and walked over to her.

"I need some more pills for room number eighty seven," he said to the nurse. She looked at him then looked around as if hoping another nurse was around. She looked back at Dante and smiled nervously.

"Um, I'm actually and intern, so like, I can't really handle any of those um, drugs, so yeah. I could find a nurse for you. You need pills for room eighty seven, right? Right, ok so I'll send her over there. And, um, sir, like, it's not visiting hours, so . . ." The nurse was rambling. Dante rolled his eyes at the bimbo and began walking back down towards Nacari's room.

"Whatever just get me some more pills," he said to her. He walked back to Nacari's room. She hadn't even moved an inch. Dante put his hands in his pockets and leaned against the door way.

"Someone is going to get you your pills in a little," he said. Nacari didn't acknowledge his presence. He sighed and they were silent for a while. Soon a nurse came in and gave Nacari her pills. Nacari toke them but then focused her attention back to the window. The nurse tried to coax her back into bed but Nacari didn't budge.

"She can't be on her feet while on those pills, they will make her dizzy," she said to Dante. Dante nodded and sighed.

"When do you think she will be able to go home?" Dante asked. The nurse pouted her lips and shrugged.

"If she is on her feet already, it seems as though she is making a speedy recover. I will talk to Dr. Ross about it, but I think your friend will be able to go home tomorrow," the nurse gave Dante an encouraging smile then left. Dante walked over to Nacari.

"You might be able to go home tomorrow," Dante said to Nacari. She looked at him as if seeing him for the first time that day. Her eyes became misty that only pain medication could cause.

"Oh, yeah, that's good," she said eagerly. She turned towards him and leaned against the window. She gave him a goofy smile and giggled.

"I can't feel my face," she said. She giggled again then looked out the window again. Dante put a hand on her shoulder. She turned around so quickly that water from her hair splashed onto Dante's face.

"Then don't keep looking out into the pouring rain," he said. Nacari shook her head then looked out the window.

"I can't, it makes me feel better," she said. Dante figured that this would be a good time to ask Nacari some questions while he still could. Seeing as she was high off her ass, she wouldn't really register the questions.

"Nacari, what did you have a nightmare about?" He asked. Nacari looked at Dante as if she didn't know what he was talking about. She looked down and was trying to see if she could find the answer on the floor. She raised her head and crossed her arms.

"Water," she said quietly. Dante looked at her in confusion then sat on the bed.

"What?" he asked. Nacari looked back to the window and stared out into the pouring rain.

"Water, I dreamt about water. Black water and I felt like I couldn't breathe. The dream felt familiar, not like I have had it before, but almost like . . . I have no idea," she said. She began braiding and unbraiding her hair nervously. She seemed to be crying, although it could have just been the rain rolling down from the window.

"I don't like water. I like showers and rain, but I don't like water, well, I like it 'cause I like to swim, but I just, I don't really know, I can't really remember the dream, it's vague," she didn't say anything after that for a while. Dante didn't want to press any further, but now he knew something about her. Water, something had to happen with water. He remembered the articles he read and then another thought came to mind.

"Did you ever have stitches?" he asked. Nacari tapped her finger against her chin then laughed.

"No, this is actually the worst injury I have ever had, ha-ha," she giggled to herself then turned her attention to the window.

"Did your sister ever get stitches?" he asked. Nacari shook her head.

"No, Iris never had stitches; she was a very cautious little girl. She was afraid of heights, the dark, spiders, clowns . . . well you get the picture," she hugged herself tightly and sighed.

"I miss my sister . . ." she looked at Dante tiredly and sighed.

"I want to go to bed," she said. Dante nodded and then helped her into bed. She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. Dante tucked her in the walked to the window. He gazed out into the storm. He knew now that there was indeed another Long child, and Dante wanted to know who he was.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

Dr. Ross had taken Nacari to X-rays to see how her wounds were healing. Nacari was sleeping at the time so she wouldn't need to take more pills and a sedative. Dante was waiting in her room impatiently. Before Nacari had fallen asleep, she had asked Dante to help her outside. The storm had gotten worse, and he didn't want to take her out there, but she had insisted. He tried to get her into a wheelchair but she ignored it and walked to the elevator.

She used her IV stand as a cane and was walking out to the courtyard. The courtyard was a flower garden outside of the hospital. It was very pretty with a fountain and a lot of flowers, but it was all dark and damp in the gray of the rain. Dante had offered his arm to Nacari, and she toke it gratefully. She had been having trouble walking because she was still on her pills. They walked in silence under the pavilion for a while, but then Nacari broke away and walked over to the roses.

The roses were all sorts of colors; white, red, yellow, and pink. Nacari stumbled awkwardly over to the flowers. Dante went to go follow her, but stayed a few feet away to give her room. She stroked the red rose gently then the yellow one. Her hair clung to her back as it became damp from the rain. She sniffed a rose and sighed.

"Did you know that different colors mean different things?" she asked Dante. Dante shook his head. Nacari turned toward him and grabbed his hand. He blushed as Nacari pulled him close to her side and placed their hands on a red rose. Nacari turned toward Dante with her eyes sparkling.

"Red means love; you give it to someone if you love them. White is for purity, mostly for children. Pink is for . . . I actually forget what pink is for, and a yellow rose means friendship," she placed his hand gently on a yellow rose. He looked at her and caught her gaze. She was smiling sadly as their fingers intertwined over the rose. Dante looked away. He felt her grip loosen and heard a soft thud as it hit her thigh. She was quiet for a while.

"Happiness," Dante whispered. Nacari didn't look up at him.

"What?" she asked quietly. Dante shrugged and turned to her.

"A pink rose means happiness, gracefulness, and gentleness," he said. Nacari turned to him with a look of skepticism on her face.

"I thought you didn't know what the colors meant," she stated. Dante looked her in the eye with seriousness and an almost sorrow like expression.

"I know what a pink rose means because my mother's favorite flower was a pink rose and she told me the meaning," he turned back to the flowers to try and avoid Nacari's gaze. Nacari placed a hand on her chest. She then reached into the rose bush and snapped a pink rose off of its stem. She held it gently in her hand then placed it in Dante's pocket. Dante looked at her in confusion, but she only shrugged and smiled.

"Memories can be bad things, but sometimes having something to remember a special person by is nice," she reached into the collar of her nightgown and got the cross necklace out. She fingered it gently then placed it back in her gown. Nacari turned away from Dante and began walking along the stepping stone path. Dante walked a few feet behind her. He notice a small line of blood trickle down her finger.

"My brother taught me what the different colors meant," she said. Dante looked at the back of her head. It bobbed ever so slightly at each labored step.

"He made me a crown of roses. He incorporated all the colors of the roses into my crown and then told me what each one meant," she laughed a little at the memory, "then he tapped me on the nose and said, 'My favorite one is the white one, because those are the roses angels picked out themselves'. Then he gave me a white rose and said, 'and my baby sister is my little angel' . . ." she started walking slower.

"We might have fought, all siblings do, but I loved my siblings, well, I still love them. I miss them a lot," she walked in silence after that. Dante felt a question on the tip of his tongue and tried to bite it bake, but could feel it worm its way out.

"Who is Lance?" he asked. Nacari froze in her tracks, and then shrugged.

"I don't know," she said. Dante walked up to her and sighed.

"You were screaming his name," he said. He didn't want to say he looked at her family photo because he didn't want her to know he was prying into her past. She turned to Dante with a sad look.

"Lance is someone I dream about sometimes. That's it, I don't know a real Lance," she began walking again. Dante looked at her skeptically, but said nothing else. Nacari walked over to a bench under a pavilion and sat down. Dante sat on the other end of the bench. He leaned back and put his arms behind his head and stared out into the rain. There was defiantly something Nacari was hiding, and it had something to do with Lance. Dante ran a hand through his hair and shrugged.

_I'm sure I'll find something out about Lance eventually, I just have to wait, _Dante thought to himself. He looked over at Nacari casually. She was sitting up straight and held on tightly to her IV stand. She was staring into her lap and was very silent. Dante felt like he should say something, but he had no idea what to say. He turned back to the torrent of rain. He closed his eyes and sighed. Now that he thought about it, the rain did sound soothing. _Damn it,  
I need to stop hanging out with women so much, their starting to rub off on me, _he thought.

"Let's go back in now, I'm tired again," Nacari whispered. She got up and started walking towards the hospital. Dante got up and walked with her, offering his jacket. Nacari shook her head and smiled at him.

"Keep your jacket, it reeks, and I am defiantly washing your coat when I get home," she said Dante scowled and then shrugged his jacket back on.

"It does not reek," he said defensively. Nacari giggled and looked at Dante.

"It does, but I guess guys don't have a good sense of smell," she said. Dante rolled is eyes in annoyance. Nacari giggled a little bit more.

"You are funny when you do that," she said. Dante looked at her then shook his head. They rode the elevator in silence and walked to her room. Dante got her a new nightgown and she went into the bathroom to change. She changed then crawled into bed. She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. Dante sighed and leaned into his chair. He closed his eyes and felt himself drifting to sleep when he heard someone come in. He opened one eye lazily and saw Dr. Ross walk in.

"Hello again, how is our girl doing?" she asked. Dante shrugged and closed his eye.

"Ok I guess, she is always sleeping," he mumbled. Dr. Ross nodded and looked at Nacari.

"That's just her pain medication. I heard that she was walking again, which is extremely good. I just need to run some tests to see how her wounds are healing, and if she is ok, then she should be able to go home," Dr. Ross looked over at Dante, "Is she over eighteen?" she asked. Dante opened his eyes and shrugged.

"I guess so, she is around twenty I think," he said. The doctor looked at him.

"If she isn't eighteen, you need to sign the release papers when we do discharge her from the hospital," she began walking out and looked back at him.

"I'll bring in a gurney and take her out of your hands for a while," she left and came back with some nurses and a gurney and wheeled Nacari out.

It had been at least half an hour now and Dante was getting impatient. He was hungry and he wanted to sleep in his own chair instead of the hospital one. He sighed in agitation. He wanted to sleep but the chair was really uncomfortable and he wanted to know if Nacari was going to be able to go home. He leaned back in the chair and began tapping his foot against the bed post. Dr. Ross came into the room. She was looking at some papers on a clipboard and then glanced up at Dante.

"She has only been with us a few days, but she is already showing signs of fast recovery. I think if we just give her a lower dosage of her pain medication she will be able to go home. I'll get you the papers and I'll send you on your way when she wakes up," Dr. Ross walked out of the room to get the papers. Dante sighed and leaned back into his chair.

"It's about damn time," he said to himself, "I was going crazy in here," when Dr. Ross came back he signed the papers and they wheeled Nacari back in. He just had to wait for her to wake up.

_ (Author's Note; Sorry this chapter went a little slow guys. Hope you guys enjoy the story so far!)_


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

"NACARI AND DANTE YOU'RE HOME!" Patty yelled excitedly. Nacari smiled and waved lazily.

"Hey Patty, how have you been?" she asked. Patty crossed her arms and pouted.

"Bored, I had to hang out with Morrison a lot!" she said. Patty spun around and clapped.

"I'm just glad you guys are back!" Patty grinned. She ran up to Dante and jumped on his back. Dante made a startled sound and growled. Nacari smiled and Patty latched onto Dante's neck.

"I'm hungry Dante, go get me something to eat!" she demanded. Dante tried to shake Patty off.

"Go get something yourself, your old enough!" he said angrily. Patty pouted and slid off his back.

"You are so mean Dante! You haven't been home in a while and I am hungry, Morrison made me eat weird stuff I didn't like!" Patty flipped her hair in annoyance and sighed.

"I'll be upstairs," she said and ran to her room. Dante rolled his eyes. Nacari smiled a little at the two of them. She sighed and walked over to Dante's desk and saw her sword. She stroked it affectionately and sat at the end of the desk. She picked it up affectionately and held it gently like one would hold a baby. Dante leaned against the wall and raised an eyebrow.

"Why do you do that?" he asked randomly. Nacari looked at him questionably.

"Why do I do what?" she asked in a hoarse voice. Dante motioned to the sword.

"Why do you treat your sword like that? It is just a sword," he said. Nacari frowned a little and looked down at her sword.

"It is not just a sword to me. My father told me to take good care of it when I had received it, and I told him I would, and I have. It does not even have a scratch on its blade, which shows how much care I put into it. Besides, for the longest time it was my only companion, and it is hard to treat it only as a thing when it is more than that," she stood up wearily and sighed again. Dante snorted but said nothing. _I prefer to be alone, heh, so much for that, _he thought to himself bitterly.

"I am going to take a shower and I am going to change, I will be down shortly," she walked wearily up the stairs. Dante watched her as she disappeared into the hallway. He walked over to his desk and opened up the drawer. He toke out the yellow folder and held it in his hand. He weighed the folder in his hand. The folder felt light in his hand, but its contents weighed heavily on his mind.

He dropped the folder down on his desk and ran a hand through his hair. A lot had happened in a few days and he was very weary. Not tired, but weary. He sat down in his chair and propped his feet up on his desk. He leaned back and closed his eyes. He was just about to drift off to sleep when the phone began to ring. He tried to ignore it but its annoying ring echoed off the empty walls. He picked it up angrily.

"Hello?" he answered in an agitated voice. The person made a ticking noise.

"Well it is about time Dante," a deep voice replied. It was Morrison, "I had to take care of Patty and wait for you to get back to tell you the good news," he said.

"What good news?" Dante asked as he picked up a magazine.

"I have a new job for you, I'll come by and tell you about it tomorrow," he said Dante snorted.

"Thanks, but I have had enough jobs for this week," he said in annoyance. Morrison sighed on the other end.

"Listen Dante, you don't really have a choice in the matter, you are really deep in debt and some people are getting annoyed with you. You need all the money you can get, I'll come by tomorrow," Morrison said. Dante was about to argue some more but Morrison had hung up. Dante growled in annoyance and slammed the phone down.

"I won't do any job I don't want to do," Dante said as he closed his eyes and drifted off to a shallow sleep.

_(Author's Note; Hope you guys are enjoying the story! This chapter is a little short and kind of boring I know, but it is just a little chapter when Dante and Nacari come home, it'll get better in the next chapter. Oh, and I am writing a new story so if you like this story please check the new one out! Thanks guys for your reviews!)_


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

_ Dante opened his eyes and looked around. He was startled to find he wasn't in his office; he was in some sort of closet staring at the wall. He tried to stand up but found out he could not stand. He tried to move his arms but found out he was restrained. He thought he could break out instantly, but found that the rope was too tight. He was surprised to find out he couldn't break out, even with his demon strength._

_ He began to feel frantic and tried to scream, but he was gagged. He was squirming and tired to turn around. He fell to the floor with a thud and hair fell into his face. Blonde hair. This wasn't his hair, he had no idea where he was and he wanted to know why he was tied up. He heard another person struggling beside him so he looked around. _

_ Lying next to him was a woman. Her black curls were clinging to her head as she was sweating and her eyes were bright in fear. Tears trickled down her face as she looked at Dante. She tried screaming to him but she was also gagged. She looked at him with a loving look and then closed her eyes. She struggled for a little but soon became unconscious. Dante tried to cry out to her but to no avail. He tried to get free but found he was getting dizzy. He was getting warmer and his vision was getting foggy. His eyelids became heavy and his skin felt like it was on fire, and the last thing he saw were flames eating through the closet door . . . _

Dante opened his eyes. He looked around and saw that he was back in his office. He sighed in relief. He was no longer gagged or restrained. His head and neck glistened with sweat with sweat. The door opened and the bell cried it's warning that there was probably an unwanted visitor. Morrison walked through the office. Dante looked at him skeptically and looked out the window. It was morning. Dante rubbed the back of his head. He thought that he was only asleep for a few minutes, which was what it felt like anyway. He looked at Morrison with annoyance.

"What do you want?" He asked. Morrison handed Dante a portfolio. Dante toke it and slammed it on the desk.

"What do you want?" Dante asked again. Morrison poked the envelope with aggression.

"This is a new job," he said. Dante rolled his eyes and picked up a magazine.

"I told you last night that I was not going to take any more jobs this week, so why don't you go away?" Dante said the last words with venom in his voice. He was feeling irritated and tired and was not in the mood for this right now. He heard a noise from the couch and looked over. Nacari was looking over the sofa at the boys. Her hair was fizzy and all over the place and there was a small strand of drool on her chin.

"Come on Dante, just take it, it'll do us some good," Nacari said wearily. Dante scoffed and turned the page.

"One, I said no, and two, even if I was to take the job, I wouldn't let you come along anyway," he said. Nacari looked at him but said nothing. Dante lowered the magazine and glared at Morrison.

"I am not doing any jobs this week," Dante said with menace in his voice. Morrison rolled his eyes and began walking towards the door.

"Fine, I'll come by when you are in a better mood," Morrison waved at Nacari, "Nice to see you again, Nacari," he said pleasantly. Nacari waved back and smiled.

"Nice to see you too," she said. He walked out of the shop and was gone. Nacari got off of the couch and walked over to Dante's desk. She picked up the portfolio and looked through it. She crossed her arms and looked at Dante with intensity.

"What do you mean you are not going to bring me along?" she asked him. Dante turned the page and continued reading.

"I mean I would not bring you along. You would just get in the way. You nearly died last time we were on a mission, and I really don't want to hide another body if you do die. So, until I say, you will stay here and take care of things when I do go on jobs," he told her. He did not need to lower the magazine to see the disbelief on her face.

"What?" she said flabbergasted. Dante said nothing and the only sound was the rustling of the pages in Dante's magazine. She stood there staring at Dante for the longest time then just shook her head.

"You have got to be kidding me," she said hoarsely. She slammed her hands down on the desk and snarled.

"The only reason I almost died was because you were acting crazy! Oh, and did you forget that you are the one who shot me?" She yelled the last words. Dante said nothing and flipped the page. She growled and stomped over to the couch. Dante heard her grunting as she pulled her boots on.

"Where are you going?" he asked her. Nacari got up and looked at him with an angry stare.

"Anywhere away from here. I just don't understand, Dante, one minute you are here for me, the next you say I am useless. Dante, I'm tired of trying to figure you out," she stomped out and slammed the door. Dante looked up. The sword that was resting against the TV was gone. The portfolio that held the job description was also gone. Dante looked at the door. She wouldn't actually do the job by herself, would she? No, no she wouldn't, not in the condition she was in. She probably just forgot to put the portfolio down, that was what it was. Dante shook his head.

"Damn it," Dante scowled as he threw the magazine on the desk. He had learned too much about Nacari to know that she was probably going to show Dante up and do the job.

"I really hate you, Nacari," Dante said through grit teeth. She was so bull headed and she thinks she is almost invincible. She couldn't even walk straight while on her medication let alone do a whole job, whatever it was. Dante mumbled under his breath as he walked out the door. He was hoping he could catch up to her before she goes to the job spot. He was really hoping he could, because if he didn't catch up to her, he had no idea where the job was, and he could possibly lose her.

_(Author's Note; Hope you guys are enjoying the story! Like I said in my last chapter, I have a new story that is a little more gritty then this and not as 'romantic' if you guys are interested. It only has one chapter so far, but it is a good story, I think . . . Anyway, thanks for reading my story and all the positive reviews guys!)_


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

Dante was looking around the streets for Nacari. She could not have gotten too far and was determined to get her, even if that means literally dragging her back to the shop. Dante was grinding his teeth in annoyance as he looked around back allies and corners for her. The storm that had been raging off and on for the past three days was beginning to start up again. The only people on the streets were couples running towards shelter after a romantic walk or a jogger trying to get a few extra minutes of running time before the storm worsens.

Dante's clothes were starting to get soaked and a chill started seeping into his bones. The longer he was outside the more agitated he became. The rain began pouring down harder and it made it almost impossible to see anything beyond five feet in front of you. Dante didn't see any familiar landmarks so he didn't know what part of the city he was in. Dante scowled and propped his collar up to cover his neck from the beating his neck.

_If I don't find that annoying kid soon, I'll just leave her out here in the rain; _Dante thought bitterly to himself, _I am in no mood for this shit! _He stuffed his hands in his pockets and sighed. The cold from the wind chill and the rain made his breath visible. It circled around his head like a smoky halo and then evaporated into the air. Dante growled and was about to turn around and head back to Devil May Cry when he saw a familiar figure up ahead.

She was standing in the ray of a street lamp facing away from Dante. Her hair was dripping wet and she was leaning against the street light pole for support. As Dante got closer he saw that she was breathing heavily and she held so tightly onto the pole that her knuckles were white. Dante walked up behind her and looked at her. She was doubled over as if to catch her breath and her sword was on the ground glowing eerily in the dim street light next to a soaking wet portfolio file. It was defiantly Nacari. Dante looked at her with concern.

"Nacari, are you ok?" he asked her. Nacari straightened up and quickly spun around to look at him. Her eyes were dilated and blood shot. Her eyes widened in fear and she opened her mouth as if to say something but nothing came out except a sharp exhaled breath. Nacari looked around and cried out. She pushed Dante away and began running away from him. Dante shook his head in confusion then began running after her. Her steps were labored and she kept stumbling around. She looked behind her and saw Dante closing in and cried out again.

Nacari began running with a sudden burst of speed and was breathing heavier. Dante had no trouble keeping up but stayed his distance so she wouldn't get scared and over stress herself. All of a sudden Nacari fell down and cried out in pain. Dante caught up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Nacar . . ." Dante began but was cut off. Nacari had punched him in the stomach hard and Dante lost his breath. With a sudden burst of strength Nacari pushed Dante down and began running in the direction they had just came from. After a few seconds, Dante caught his breath and snarled. _What the hell is wrong with her? _Dante wandered to himself. He scrambled up and began chasing after her again. She wasn't running as fast as she was earlier because she was limping and struggling. She reached the lamp again and was doubled over in pain. Dante growled angrily as he approached her.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he asked her. Nacari didn't reply so Dante walked closer to her. He saw her reach for her sword but then she fell down. She cried out as she tried to pick up her sword. She gave up and used both hands to support herself. She was shivering and breathing hard. Nacari looked like she was about to throw up.

Nacari cried out as her arms gave way. Her chin cracked against the ground as she began sobbing. Dante stood there not sure what to do. Nacari turned to him with fear on her face and blood running down her chin and neck. The blood that was flowing down her chest and into her shirt mixed with the rain and tears flowing down her face to make the blood more watery and a pink color. Her eyes became pleading as she searched his face.

"Please don't hurt me," she whimpered. Dante just looked down at her without saying anything. He didn't know what to say to her to calm her down. She sobbed again and curled up into the fetal position.

"Please don't hurt me, I don't know where I am, just please don't hurt me . . ." she kept repeating the same words over and over again. Dante crouched down and placed a hand on her shoulder. She flinched away from him and looked at him. She was whimpering and looked up at him in confusion.

"Dante?" she asked him. He nodded his head slowly and Nacari squeezed her eyes shut and hugged herself while still in the fetal position.

"I don't know where I am, I was following the instructions in the folder and then I thought I saw someone I haven't . . ." before she could continue she sat up on her hands and knees and threw up. She began shaking again and sat up on her knees and hugged herself. Her teeth were clattering and tears were streaming down her face along with rain. She had her eyes shut tightly and was coughing and wheezing. Dante had no idea what to do so he just sat there watching her. Finally she began calming down and began breathing normally again. She opened her eyes and looked up at Dante with pain. She shakily stood up and picked up her sword and the file. Dante stood up to and looked at her with concern.

"I want to go home," Nacari said quietly. Dante put a hand on her shoulder but was surprised when she grabbed his hand. She looked up at him and smiled wearily.

"I will show you something that I can do. I am not useless," she said to him sternly. Dante shook his head and looked at her with confusion. Nacari spaced her feet out and held her sword tightly.

"_Transit meton!" _Nacari said. The sword began glowing and Dante began feeling faint. The world began spinning around him and he closed his eyes. His stomach felt strange and he felt like he was about to pass out. He felt Nacari's hand tighten around his as a sudden gust of wind blew through their hair. Dante felt the wind die down as his stomach churned and he felt Nacari's hand slide away from his. He was seeing stars as he slowly opened his eyes. They were back at Devil May Cry.

Dante leaned against the wall. He felt like he was going to pass out and tried to keep his eyes open. He turned to Nacari who was sitting on the floor with her head in her hands.

"How did you do that?" Dante asked her. Nacari shrugged and looked up at him.

"Family secret," was all she said. She placed her head in her hands again and started sobbing. Dante looked over at her then closed his eyes.

"Why are you crying now?" he asked irritated. Nacari began sobbing harder and couldn't answer him. He waited for her to calm down then repeated the question. She wiped her nose on her arm and breathed heavily. She looked up at him with sorrow in her eyes. Her eyes seemed to have become more bloodshot.

"I was pissed off at you, so I wanted to show you I was fine or something, so I went to see that client. While I was walking though, I thought I heard someone following me. When I looked back no one was there so I just kept walking. Then I heard a familiar voice calling my name. I thought it was you at first but it was too deep to be yours, so I looked behind me again," she became quiet again and hugged herself. She bit her quivering lower lip and blinked a few times to chase away the tears.

"I saw my dad . . ." she sobbed and buried her head into her hands. Dante was silent for a while.

"Did he follow you here or something?" he asked her. Nacari looked up at him with a look of pain and disbelief on her face. She bit her lip again and shook her head.

"Dante, my father is dead, but that was him, that was my dad!" she cried out


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty One

Dante didn't know what to say about that. Nacari began sobbing harder and clutched her shoulders. She was digging so hard into her shoulders she broke skin. Dante shook his head and glared at her.

"How could you have seen your father if he is dead?" he asked her skeptically. Nacari looked over at him and shrugged. She brushed her hair behind her ears and hugged her knees to her chest. She placed her chin gingerly on her knees and closed her eyes as she spoke.

"I don't know. Maybe it was a hallucination from my pain pills or something. I don't want to take pain medication anymore," Nacari said sadly. She bit her lip to hold back from crying out again. She looked sadly up at Dante and toke a deep breath.

"You look like him; you have the same eyes as him, like ice. His eyes were cold though, so cold it burned you, and I thought I would never see those eyes again . . ." Nacari buried her face in her knees to muffle her sob. Dante crossed his arms and sighed. He didn't know what to do or say. He waited for her to calm down and stop sobbing. He looked at her directly in the eyes then spoke.

"How did your dad die?" he asked her. Nacari looked at him and looked at him skeptically, as if deciding if she wanted to tell him or not. She finally made up her mind and sighed.

"Doctor said heart attack, but he actually died of fear," she told him. Dante looked at her in confusion and chuckled nervously.

"He died of fear?" he asked her skeptically. Nacari glared at him then stood up. Her knees were shaking but she stood up with fists at her sides.

"Yes, he died of fear Dante. You may not believe me, but he did! I was there and I saw what happened," she said angrily. Dante could tell that he had angered her. Her teeth were clenched her finger nails were digging into her hands. She scowled and shook her head as tears fell down her cheeks.

"You don't know anything. You weren't there, you weren't there! He did die of fear, he did die of fear!" She yelled at him and stomped her foot. Dante flinched away from her voice. He didn't think he has ever seen her that angry before. He rubbed the back of his neck and bit his lip.

"Ok, I believe you, but what was he so afraid of that it killed him?" he asked her. Nacari's eyes became wide and her mouth was open. She uncurled her fists and began biting her finger nails nervously. She stared at him like a deer caught in car headlights. She had an expression of panic on her face.

"I lied," she said quickly, "I was just kidding. He died of a heart attack, and my mind is just all jumbled up from the medication and stuff, so I was just kidding. I wanted to see your face, that's all, so yeah, I think I am going to take a warm shower, so yeah, forget about this entire thing, ok! I will stop taking my pain pills so that I can actually think clearly and I am not hallucinating so yeah, ok bye!" she turned around and was about to run up the stairs, but Dante grabbed her arm and spun her around so roughly that when she was facing him she had hit his chest. She was fighting back tears as he grabbed her shoulders roughly.

"Why do you do that? You say something about your past but then dismiss it and I am tired of it! Just tell me what happened to your father, tell me about your past, I'll listen!" Dante said to her roughly. Nacari looked away from him and bit her lip. Her arms hung limply by her sides and tears streamed silently down her face. Dante realized how tightly he was grabbing her shoulders so he loosened his grip.

"I can't," she whispered to him, "I can't tell you." Dante growled and grabbed her roughly again and shook her a little.

"Why can't you f*cking tell me?" He snarled at her. She cried out again and pushed him away. She rubbed her shoulders and glared at him with anger and sorrow.

"BECAUSE I CAN HARDLY REMEMBER OK!" she screamed at him. She stomped her foot and sobbed.

"I can't remember! I can only remember what I see in my dreams and in flash backs I get. I don't know why I can't remember, I remember certain things, like my first F in school and what my favorite book was and what I did with my friends, but it's like all my memories were erased!" She turned away from him and crossed her arms.

"I would tell you if I could, but I can't remember," she spun around quickly and looked at him with a look of hatred and passion. Her eyes were like a sea of green during the middle of a hurricane. Her lips were pressed into a thin line and her finger nails dug into her arms to keep from lashing out at him.

"And Dante, I don't want to remember. I can't remember my past for a reason, but I do remember that my whole family is dead and I don't want to relive that!" she turned around and flew up the stairs and slammed the bathroom door. Dante was in a state of confusion. If she couldn't remember her past, then did she really forget who Lance Long was? Why did she remember how her brother die, did she have a dream about it? There were so many questions Dante didn't have an answer to, but he wanted the answers.

"You should have kissed her, you know," Patty said from the couch. Dante turned around and scowled.

"How long have you been down here?" he asked. Patty shrugged and pouted.

"I was here the whole time and heard everything you guys said. She wanted you to kiss her, you could tell by her body motions. Lip biting, unstoppable crying, hugging herself, all signs that she wanted another human to be there for her and comfort her," Patty said to him. She stuck her nose up in the air and huffed.

"You are so not romantic, it's almost sickening!" she said to him. Dante scowled and crossed his arms.

"What makes you the romance professional?" he asked mockingly. Patty stuck her tongue out at him and crossed her arms.

"I watch a lot of soap operas and reality TV; they are always falling in love and stuff. So I know what a woman wants from the guy they are crushing on," she said. Dante looked at her skeptically.

"Nacari does not have a crush on me," he said defensively. Patty smiled evilly and began twirling her hair.

"Oh yes she does. It is so clear, from the way she stares at you and the way she follows you like a puppy. If she didn't like you, she wouldn't have even stayed here once she saw you, even if she wanted you to train her. She would have left right away like all the other women you bring home," Patty said. Dante scowled but remained silent. Patty's smile became wider and she giggled.

"You know she has a crush on you, because you have a crush on her!" Patty exclaimed. Dante blushed and growled at her.

"I do not like her!" he yelled at her. Patty shook her head and shook a finger at him.

"Of course you do, or else you wouldn't let her stay with you, even if you were charging rent. She has been here over two weeks and you haven't charged her, and you would have never accepted her as a partner, even if she was good at hunting demons!" Patty hopped off the couch and walked to the door.

"I'm going out to get ice cream, so I'll leave you two alone, and you better be nice to her when she gets out of the shower. Make a move on her, get a bit romantic," Patty told him. Dante rolled his eyes and walked over to his desk.

"Just leave before I kick you out," he said aggressively. Patty slams the door and was gone. Dante ran a hand through his hair and looked at his desk. He had left Nacari's file out on his desk and it was open. He wondered if Patty had read it. He placed the file back into the drawer and massaged his temples.

_I do NOT like Nacari; in fact I can't even stand her! Patty is only, like, eleven or twelve, so she knows nothing about love or anything. Sure, Nacari is pretty good looking if you are into those Goth chicks, but she is so not my type! _Dante thought to himself. Although now that he thought about it, when he was alone, he couldn't help but think about her, especially that one incident when she was in the shower . . . Dante banged his head on his desk and growled.

_DAMN IT DANTE! Don't even give it a second thought! Patty is just a love smitten little girl who thinks that life is like a Disney movie and that everyone falls in love, well that is not how life works! _He thought bitterly to himself. He grabbed a magazine and leaned back in his chair. He began flipping through the magazine to try and distract him. He sighed and closed his eyes.

"I don't like Nacari, she is just an annoying little girl," he said to himself. Even though he said that, he knew that it wasn't true, but Patty couldn't be right, could she?

_(Author's Note; I do not own the Disney franchise, though it would be awesome if I did, I do not. Now don't forget to read my other story guys! It might not be as good as this one, but it is going to be more gory so if you like the fight scenes in The Devil and the Dragon, you'll like the some of the scenes in my new story. Wow, already at Chapter 21, and it's thanks to my readers who are into the story, thanks guys for reading my story! Well, hope you guys like the story so far and please review and enjoy XD)_


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty Two

Nacari slammed the door and hugged herself. She locked the door and turned the water on. She sat down on the edge of the shower and squeezed herself. She shut her eyes tightly and rubbed her arms to try and chase away the chill going up her spine. Her shoulders were throbbing from the way Dante held her and she bit her lip to stop from crying out. She was in a lot of pain and the way Dante shook her didn't help at all.

Dante had grabbed the shoulder with the bullet wound in it and now the wound pulsated with pain. It shouldn't have been hurting, but Nacari had lied to him. She wasn't taking any medication since she had gotten home. So she knew what she saw was no hallucination. Her heart still pounded into her chest. Her ribs felt like they were burning and her head was pulsating with pain. She gingerly touched the wound on her chin and pulled away. It was still bleeding and a few flakes of skin came off in her hand.

She then explored her other wounds. Her shoulder protested in pain as she examined the bullet wound. It was still bandaged with water proof gauze, but the gauze did not ease her pain. She toke of her shirt gently and threw it on the sink. She toke off the rest of her clothes and stepped into the shower. She let the warm water hit her rigid body and a shiver of warmth ran through her body. She sat down in the shower and stretched her legs out. She sat like that for a while just enjoying the sound of the water hitting the walls and her body.

_I hope that his water bill raises so much he gets into more debt!_ She thought bitterly to herself. She sighed and hugged herself a little. She was so confused she didn't know what to think or do. When she was around him she felt so confused. She didn't know whether to hug him or strangle him. She felt so many weird things when she was around him, it almost scared her. She felt strong yet weak, afraid yet protected, loved and hated. It was so much it made her mind spin. She would think about the time she had spent around Dante, especially when he held her. He felt so strong and the rhythm of his beating heart in his ears; it made her feel so warm and she had feelings she has never felt before. She yanked her hair and her body screamed in protest at the sudden movement.

"Damn hormones! I haven't felt like this in such a long time," she said to herself. She shivered at the thought. She remembered that figure she saw earlier and bit her lip. It had to be her father, it had to be him. She remembered those cold eyes, cold like Dante's, but her fathers were different then Dante's. Dante's eyes were cold yet warm deep down, but her father's eyes were cold, so cold.

She felt hot tears mixing with the water from the shower run down her face. She had never felt that frightened in her life. Her teeth clattered as a shiver crawled up her spine. She stroked her hair nervously. Her head pounded as she began to remember something about her father . . .

_Nacari was in the bathroom with a box of green hair dye she got at the drug store. She was trying to impress the school pretty boy whose favorite color was green. Nacari's hair touched the floor as the fifteen year old opened the box and began filling the sink up. She had never dyed her hair before, and she had no idea how to do it. Her friend told her to squirt the dye onto which part of the hair she wanted dyed. Nacari didn't want to dye all of her hair green, just the tips, so she placed the bottom half of her hair into the water and took the dye and lathered it in her hair._

_She spent fifteen minutes lathering her hair and then another fifteen drying it. She was so excited to see her hair after it was done she couldn't look in the mirror just yet. When she was done, she put the dryer away and giggled like a little girl. She imagined when she was going to go to school tomorrow the look on everyone's face. She would totally be the cutest girl in school now, and her crush would have no choice but to ask her to homecoming! Her year was going pretty bad, but maybe this would turn everything around . . ._

_When she turned to look in the mirror she was horrified at what she saw. Her hair was blue! She looked at the box and it said do not dye in warm or hot water. She screamed and pulled her hair. She whimpered as she looked into the mirror. She would be the laughing stock of the whole school and would be made fun of. She cried out and threw the box at the wall. She ran out to her father's study and banged on the door._

"_DADDY DADDY DADDY!" she cried as her fists became red with pounding. Her father opened the door with a look of irritation on his face. After the death of his wife and other two children he had become old looking and weary. He used to look young and handsome, but now mourning and sorrow had weighed him down and his once smiling eyes became cold and unloving. Nacari fell into his arms and began crying._

"_DADDY! MY HAIR, MY HAIR!" she screamed into his chest. He didn't move and when Nacari let him go he walked back into his study and closed the door. Nacari began playing with her hair nervously. Her father opened the door back up with scissors and motioned for Nacari to follow him. Nacari saw the scissors and shook her head vigorously. _

"_No Daddy, not my hair, please Daddy, not my hair, please Daddy no no no!" she tried running away from him. The only thing that Nacari thought made her beautiful was her hair which her mother said was the most beautiful thing in the world. She tried running but was pulled back as her father pulled her hair. Nacari cried out as she tried hitting him and kicking him. He pulled her closer and slapped her across the face with the hand that held the scissors. She cried out as she felt the blade cut her cheek and she felt tears streamed down her face. Her father puller her into his study and sat her on his desk. Nacari sobbed as she saw all her hair raining down. She pleaded her father to stop, but he just kept cutting and cutting with a look of hate and pain in his eyes. Nacari sobbed as the blue hair turned to black hair as he kept hacking away at her hair. _

_When he was done Nacari fell to the floor and gathered up her soft hair. She sobbed as she felt her hair that reached now to her ears. She cried and cried then her father slapped her across the face._

"_Clean this up," was all he said to her in a cold heartless voice. Nacari cried as she got up and retrieved the broom. Her sobs became louder as she swept her hair into the trash. Her father watched as she swept and when she was finished he told her to get out._

"_And next time you do this and embarrass yourself and I, I will cut all of it off until the only hair on your head would be your eyebrows," he pushed her out and slammed the door. Nacari's lip quivered as she sat outside her father's office and pulled her short hair. She was made fun of the next day because she looked like a boy._

Nacari shook her head as she remembered it.After that, she had hated her father and tried to avoid him at all costs. She began having multiple sleepovers at her friend's house, and when she was not allowed to go over there she would spend the night on the roof or she would sleep in a mausoleum at the cemetery. After the death of her mother and brother, her father acted strange and distant. There were other things that made her father act strange, but she couldn't remember exactly. There were huge gaps in her memory, gaps she wanted to fill but at the same time wanted to remain a mystery.

Nacari snuggled her hair around her face. She loved her hair and it toke her years to replace the beautiful locks she had lost. She swore she would never cut her hair and she always dyed her hair blue as a last insult to her now deceased father. The fear she had felt when she saw her father was so strong that she still shook at the memory. 

"He is dead, he is going to stay dead, and good riddance to that prick!" she growled. She turned off the water and checked her clothes. They were still wet from the rain, but she had nothing else to wear, so she shrugged and put the clothes back on. It felt cold as it lay against her skin, but she ignored the cold and turned off the light in the bathroom and closed the door.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty Three

Dante heard the stairs creak as Nacari walked down the stairs. He lowered the magazine and looked over at her. She was digging into her bag and got out shorty shorts and her Three Days Grace T-Shirt and toke off her shirt. She wasn't wearing a bra. Dante blushed and buried his face in his magazine.

"What the hell are you doing?" Dante asked. Nacari looked over at him and shrugged.

"I am changing. If I stay in these wet clothes I'll catch a cold," she said matter-of-factly. Dante rolled his eyes and scowled.

"Then go upstairs and change in the bathroom, you know, where there isn't anyone watching you!" Dante exclaimed. Nacari had taken of her pants and was putting on her shorts.

"Why would I do that when I can just change right here and save myself the trouble of walking up the stairs? Besides, you have already seen me naked before so stop being so bashful," she said to him. She walked over to him and lowered his magazine. Her expression was bleak as she stared at him. Dante raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms.

"What the hell do you want?" he asked. Nacari stared at him for a while then turned away.

"Nothing, I was just looking at your eyes," she said and walked over to the couch. Dante massaged his temples and sighed.

"Why did you want to look at my eyes?" he asked her. She turned towards him and smirked.

"How about I ask you something, why are you asking me so many damn questions?" she asked him in a mocking tone. Dante shook his head and began reading again. Nacari sat on the couch and was playing with her hair. They were quiet for a while, the only sound being the pages of Dante's magazine.

"Do you have anything to drink?" Nacari asked. Dante shrugged but didn't look away from his magazine.

"I have beer," he said. Nacari examined her nails and sighed.

"Ok, where is that at?" she asked. Dante looked over at her and raised an eyebrow.

"Where does someone normally keep beer?" he asked her mockingly. Nacari tossed her hair over her shoulder and yawned. She walked over to Dante's mini refrigerator and reached into the refrigerator.

"Do you want one too?" she asked him. Dante shrugged and flipped the page.

"Sure," he said nonchalantly. Nacari threw one to him and he caught it. She walked back over to the couch and plopped down and put her feet up next to the TV.

"Why do you read the same magazine over and over again?" she asked him. He looked over at her and set the magazine down.

"I do not read the same magazine over and over again," he said. She shrugged and motioned to the other couch.

"You can sit over here you know," she said to him. He shrugged and leaned back in his chair.

"Who said I wanted to sit over there, I am perfectly fine right here," he said. Nacari shrugged and smirked.

"Whatever," was all she said. Dante rolled his eyes and walked over to the couch and sat down beside Nacari. She looked over at him and toke a sip of beer.

"I thought you said that you were comfortable over there?" she asked him. He shrugged and looked over at her.

"I thought you didn't care?" he asked. She shrugged and looked away.

"I don't," was all she said. They sat their drinking their beers for a while not really saying anything. The sounds from the city were the only thing that made a noise. Dante downed half of the can and looked over at Nacari, and she was nursing the beverage. She drank some of it and made a face as if it was too bitter. He chuckled a little and she looked over at him.

"What is so funny?" She asked bitterly. Dante shrugged and downed the rest of the can and crushed it in his hand.

"Don't you drink beer often? You don't seem like you can hold it down," he pointed out. She turned so her body was facing him and held the can out towards the night table. She stared at him with a blank expression and drank some more of the beer.

"I can hold my beer as much as the next guy, but I just don't like to drink beer a lot," she said. Dante shrugged and got another beer. They remained silent for a while and only started talking after three or four beers later. Dante looked over at her and massaged his forehead.

"Um . . . listen Nacari," he began, "Earlier, you seemed upset, and I can't help thinking maybe it might have been a little of my fault . . ." He looked away and rubbed the back of his neck. She looked at him in confusion and shrugged.

"Eh, whatever. I accept your apology," she said. It was Dante's turn to look confused.

"I wasn't apologizing," he said, "I was just acknowledging what I observed," he propped his feet up on the TV and drank the rest of his beer. Nacari looked at him with a blank expression and then looked up at the ceiling. She toke a sip of her beer and yawned. She leaned against the armrest and laid her legs on the couch. The awkward silence was back and then the seventh or eighth beer came along.

"Do you like me?" Dante asked randomly. Nacari drank the rest of her beer and threw it on the floor.

"I guess," she said. He looked at her with a look of amusement on his face.

"Oh yeah?" he said in an amused voice. Nacari nodded and looked at him.

"When I don't want to strangle you," she shrugged and looked up at the ceiling, "You can be really nice, but then you put up a tough guy front and it just gives off strange signals, you know?" Dante shrugged and got another beer.

"No, I don't know, and I really don't care to know," he said nonchalantly to her when he returned. Nacari pointed at him and she bit her lip.

"You just did it!" she exclaimed, "You ask a sentimental question that makes you seem like a nice and caring guy, but then you act like you don't care! Why do you do that?" She asked exasperated. Dante looked at her and shrugged.

"I don't know, maybe it is because I don't care, and why can't I ask a question? Besides, it's my personality," he said. She rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out.

"You have the personality of a rock then," she giggled. He gave rolled his eyes then looked away.

"Do you like me?" she asked in a little girl voice. He rolled his eyes and smirked.

"If I didn't like you, you wouldn't be here right now, would you?" he asked her. She leaned towards him a little closer. She looked at him and he couldn't help but look at her. Her eyes were glistening from the alcohol and lights, making them look like they were glowing. She bit her lower lip nervously and blushed.

"Dante, don't answer my question with another question. Do you like me?" she asked again. Dante felt his heart begin to race at her closeness and looked around nervously. She leaned in closer so that they were only inches away from each other. Her breath smelt faintly of vanilla and alcohol. Her eyes were half opened in a seductive expression. Dante looked at her and his mouth became dry. She looked at him with a serious yet innocent expression.

"Dante, do you like me?" she asked quietly. Dante felt her arms around his neck as Nacari leaned in and kissed him. Dante was surprised and shocked that Nacari actually kissed him. Her eyes were closed and only their lips were touching. Her lips felt like satin against his and his heart leaped into his throat and his pulse pounded in his ears.

He felt his arms circle around her waist as if they had a mind of their own and dragged Nacari closer to him. He closed his eyes and opened his mouth. Nacari was a little hesitant at first, but then caught on and opened her mouth too. He explored the softness of her mouth with his tongue and she moaned a little. She leaned up against him and was pulling him towards her. What was an innocent little kiss became something a lot more.

As they were kissing, Dante felt all of his emotions from the past few days well up with the sudden heat and passion brought on by Nacari's kiss; worry, guilt, anger. All that came to the surface and he pressed Nacari closer to him. She moaned a little more at the sudden roughness. Dante released his grip on her hips and moved his hands to the side of her face. He pulled her so close to him he could feel her breasts pressing up against his chest. He began intensifying the kiss until somehow he bit her lip.

Nacari pulled away from him and raised a hand to her lower lip. She pulled her hand away from her lip and saw a small trickle of blood. She licked it away but some remained on her lip giving it a dark red appearance, making her pretty looks dark but hot. Dante blinked a few times then looked away blushing. Nacari did the exact same thing. There was an awkward silence between them and neither one knew wait to say. Finally Nacari broke the silence.

"I am so sorry Dante, I am so sorry! I have no idea what came over me! It must have been the beer! I . . . I . . ." She got up and ran upstairs and into the bathroom. Dante heard the door slam and put his head in his hands. He wasn't that drunk, he wasn't even buzzed, so why did he do that? He wanted to push her away, but he actually kissed back. He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed.

"I can't believe I just did that . . ." he said to himself.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty Four

Dante was sitting down at his desk reading his magazine when he heard the bell over the door ring. He set down his magazine and yawned. It had been two days since Nacari's show of emotion and Dante hadn't really seen her in a while. Yesterday she had been too hung over to leave the bathroom and spent half of the day throwing up and the other half sleeping in the bathtub. Today she was spending the day on the roof not answering when Patty tried to coax her down. Nacari had just told Patty to leave her alone and went back to her sulking. Patty came back in and crossed her arms.

"What did you do her to make her act like that?" she asked in an obnoxious voice. Dante rolled his eyes and went back to reading.

"Go away, I am not in the mood to deal with you right now," he said in a monotone voice. Patty scowled and stomped her foot.

"You drive me insane, Dante!" she shrieked. Dante shrugged and flipped the page. Patty rolled her eyes and left. Dante rolled his eyes and set his magazine down.

"Damn kid, drives me insane . . ." he mumbled to himself. He stretched and leaned back in his chair. He blew a stray strand of hair out of his eyes and continues reading. He heard some banging upstairs and figured it was Patty throwing a fit. He heard someone come down the stairs and looked over. It was Nacari. He returned to his magazine.

"You look like shit," he said. Nacari pushed her hair behind her ears and leaned against the wall.

"I feel like it," she mumbled. He shrugged and turned the page.

"What made you come down from the roof?" he asked nonchalantly. Nacari shrugged and sighed.

"I got sick of that stupid city air. With all that factory smoke and stuff, it makes it hard to breathe, don't you feel the same?" she turned to him and sighed again, "I'm tired, I think I'll go sleep, or take a walk . . ." she walked over to the couch and plopped down. She propped her head up on her hands and closed her eyes.

"No I won't. It's too much work, but I need to get out of here," she mumbled to herself. She bit her lip and got up abruptly. Dante looked over at her and raised an eyebrow.

"What are you mumbling about?" he asked in an annoyed voice. She looked over at him and ran her hand through her hair.

"I . . ." before she could finish the bell above the door rang and a woman walked in. She was slim but was very toned and looked battle scared. Her features were sharp and intimidating, but pretty none the less. She had a very short hair cut but it looked good on her. It was Lady.

"Well, I see that this place is even worse than when I came here the last time," she smirked and then glared at Nacari.

"Oh, and you must be Nacari, right?" she looked at her up and down and her smirk grew bigger.

"My God, I expected you to be taller, thinner and more grown up looking. You are so child like I thought you were a life sized doll at first glance," she chuckled to herself and burned a hole into Nacari's eyes with her gaze.

"You look out of shape for a demon huntress, it is very embarrassing, and you look like you still have your baby fat. Your face is too round and your hair is too long and your eyes are to childlike," she turned back to Dante.

"Anyway, I have a job for you and you will do it," Dante rolled his eyes and began reading his magazine once again. Nacari looked at Lady unbelievingly and gasped.

"Just say what you want and get it over with," Dante said blankly. Lady threw a file onto Dante's desk and winked at him.

"Your mission is in here, you will be going 'undercover'. It also has that information you wanted. I have somewhere else to be so I cannot stay long," Lady said and began walking out. Nacari blocked the door way and placed her hands on her hips.

"What did you mean when you said I was too childish?" she asked in a shrill voice. Lady chuckled and crossed her arms.

"I mean what I said; you are very childish and very girlish. It looks like you are playing dress up in an older siblings clothes, just pretending," Lady stated. Nacari pouted then bit her lower lip. Lady smirked and pointed at her.

"Your actions are those of a young child as well," Lady pointed out. Nacari bit her lip harder and squeezed her eyes shut.

"You look younger than me! Respect your elders!" Nacari blurted. Lady rolled her eyes and pushed Nacari out of the doorway.

"An elder is wiser, more experienced and more mature than their underlings. So in all reality, I am your elder," she walked out and slammed the door. Nacari bit her lip then turned to Dante. He had not looked up once and was ignoring the two's conversation. Nacari rushed over to him and began ringing her hands nervously.

"Dante am I childish?" she asked in a shrill voice. Dante turned the page and rolled his eyes.

"Yes, you are rather childish, in looks and in actions," he said in a monotone voice. Nacari looked at him with mouth agape. She scowled and stomped her foot.

"Says the guy who survives on pizza and ice cream! That is a children's diet! You have such an explosive temper too!" she shrieked. Dante said nothing and wouldn't look at her. She scowled and stomped her foot again.

"Fine! If that is how you are going to be, I am going for a walk!" she twirled around and opened the door.

"Are you sure you want to take a walk? Have you forgotten so easily what happened the last time you went on a walk by yourself?" Dante asked nonchalantly. Nacari froze in the middle of the door way and leaned against the door frame.

"I will take the chances, I just don't want to be here right now, I want to be alone," with that she closed the door. Dante looked up and set his magazine down. He opened the file Lady had given him. Inside was the job description, but underneath that was another newspaper article.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty Five

The Long family once again made the headlines in the small town newspaper. The picture they printed was a picture of a twelve year old with long silky black hair and big shining eyes holding onto an eight year old girl with bright eyes and frizzy uncontrollable red hair and a gap between her front teeth. The other picture was of the same girls two years later with the fourteen year having her hair in a long mystical black braid with a bright smile holding to a gymnastic medal and the ten year old with her bright red hair in a frizzy pony tail that reached to her shoulders with a splash of freckles across her nose and cheeks also holding a medal. Dante began reading the article.

_Two girls from the Long family were hospitalized yesterday after passing out in the middle of both their classes. Nacari Long, aged fourteen and Iris Long, aged ten had been sick since two days ago and would not eat or drink anything and was very dehydrated, and anything they did try to eat they would regurgitate and have been having dizzy spells. The doctors have no idea why the girls are this ill but they are doing many tests to help them._

_Darren Long said that he had no idea how his children got this sick. Only one of his children have not gotten sick, his young son Lance. We asked to interview the boy, but his father would not let us. Darren Long's wife, Lenore says that Iris was always a sickly child and that it was nothing to worry about and is just a small virus that both the girls caught. That is all the information we have thus far._

Dante flipped through the rest of the newspaper clip but that was all it had said. He turned to the other article. It seemed to be more somber because the pictures weren't of both girls, just of Iris. One was a generic school picture of her with an awkward smile and eyes too wide. Her hair was done well in the picture and her freckles stuck out cutely against her cheeks with a gray background. The other picture of her was of her looking sad and surprised as if she had just been crying and someone randomly took a picture of her.

_Today, one of the two girls that were hospitalized a few days ago had just died. Iris Long, aged ten was pronounced legally dead at 3:09am in the hospital. The community is taking the death very seriously as Iris Long was the sweet heart of the community. She was always kind and polite to the elderly and helped whenever she could. She had many friends and many adults who admired her, many of which who are shocked and horrified at the current series of events. Children say she was fun to be around and teachers said she was a pleasure in class. _

_ The doctors had confirmed that the two girls had ingested some sort of poisonous substance, but they have not confirmed the identity of the substance. After some complications with breathing, Iris Long went into a semi coma and then her organs eventually failed. The other girl, Nacari Long, had no complications and is confirmed to actually be recovering. _

_ This is not the first tragedy that has befallen the Long family. Four years ago, the family home was set ablaze and two members of the Long family, killing Darren's oldest son and his first wife. The suspicious fire and the poisoning may be connected as suspicious circumstances of death, but the investigation of the fire four years ago turned up nothing, the police said that they are considering digging a little bit more into the case._

_ The funeral will be held the day after tomorrow if there is anyone who wishes to attend. It will be held at 5:00pm if there is no complication with the weather. _

Dante reread the article and sighed. There was defiantly something going on with Nacari's family, and Dante wanted to know about Nacari's past desperately. Dante shrugged and set the articles down. He found it interesting that Nacari's father had remarried and that she had been in the hospital once before.He had found it very interesting that both girls happened to be poisoned by the same thing but not the other family members, but there really wasn't anything he could do about it; he would just have to wait until found out some more stuff.

Dante kind of regretted what he had said to Nacari about her being childish. She seemed really upset by the comment, but it was the truth. She was a good fighter that much was true, but she had an awkward way of fighting and a way of handling herself. Sometimes her movements were graceful, but then there are other times when she is childlike and immature. The first time they met, she had been in shadows and seemed very sophisticated, but after she became more comfortable around him, the more childlike she acted.

Nacari's appearance was childlike too. Her hair was very long for someone her age and the blue at her tips was childish as well, but it had suited her. Her eyes were big and round and always looked eager and there was a faint hint of summer freckles when she was in the right lighting. Her body also hadn't really grown out of her baby fat yet, but she wasn't that chunky, just very childlike. Her body was well curved and very developed though, when she doesn't have her clothes on. Dante blushed at the thought and shook his head.

He got up and looked at the door. _I really should go looking for her, knowing her she will probably end up being beaten up or fall into the only radioactive puddle in the whole freaking city, _he thought to himself. He rolled his eyes and walked out the door, _I am sure she could not have gotten too far. . ._


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Nacari walked through the unfamiliar streets of the strange unfamiliar land. She bit her lip and blinked rapidly as she rushed through the mysterious and dark alleyways. Her vision became fuzzy from tears forming in her eyes. She stopped abruptly in a dank and smelly alleyway and clenched her fists.

_They are both right Nacari, _a voice taunted in Nacari's head; _you are just a small child in a woman's body. You are weak willed and small minded. _The voice repeated the words in her mind over and over again. Nacari clenched her teeth and closed her eyes even tighter. Her heart fluttered like a bird in her chest and she relaxed her body.

"I am nothing but a child," she had said to herself. She opened her eyes half way and watched a strand of water dripping into a puddle in a hypnotizing rhythm. She breathed in and out and she grinned a soft smile.

"However, I will not let my short comings ruin my goal, and they ARE right, I am very childish which will be my downfall," She began twirling a small strand of hair then caught herself. What a childish habit.

"With Dante on my side," she whispered to herself, "I will accomplish it," she looked over her shoulder as if she was expecting someone. She pushed her hair behind her ears and leaned against the wall as if suddenly standing was too much trouble. Her breathing became labored and she felt a cold sweat run down her back. Her ribs and head were starting to hurt again.

_You will never do it, _the voice in her head told her, _a child like you will surly die if you even attempt to accomplish this feat you have tried tirelessly to begin for so long now. _The hoarse voice chuckled in her mind and the mocking laugh echoed in her head. She sighed and closed her eyes and slide down the wall and fell to her knees.

"Do not," her breathing became more labored as she spoke but she ignored the pain and continued.

"Do not patronize me. I am a child, but even a child can accomplish something of this magnitude," she opened her eyes and looked up to the sky with an icy gaze.

_You can accomplish nothing, _the voice chided, _you are talking to a voice in your head, and you are defiantly childish; talking to a voice in your head, an imaginary friend. _Nacari rubbed her temples and sighed.

"You are right, of course, but I was used to being alone, it is just a reflex. I have someone to talk to now, though . . ." she rubbed her shoulders and looked at her boots.

_Yet you do not, you tell him nothing and you would rather be alone. You speak to a fragment of your own imagination rather than a real person, a real person you care about . . . _The voice reminded her. She sighed once again and shrugged.

"I . . . I don't want to annoy him. Besides, I do not mind being alone, I mean, Dante surly doesn't want to talk to a child like me," she said in a monotone, "besides, he just wouldn't understand. I don't want to tell him," she stood up and started walking using the wall as support.

_You don't want to tell him for a reason. You are afraid that he will think you are crazy, of course you probably are. Too bad you have such a finicky memory, maybe I should help you remember, _The voice taunted. The mocking tone made Nacari stop again. She bit her lip and punched the wall.

"No! I don't want to remember, I don't want to!" she shouted. A stray dog perked his head up at the sudden yell but grew uninterested and continued shifting through the garbage. Nacari covered her mouth and shook her head.

_Heheheheh . . . Oh but I think you do, I mean, you DID tell Dante you would tell him things if you remembered, and maybe I should force you to tell him . . ._The voice began fading a little but still had the same malicious tone. Nacari pulled her hair and bit her lip so hard it bled.

"No! NO! I . . . I don't want to remember. Well, maybe it might be a good idea . . .NO! he doesn't need to know, it is no big deal, and, and I don't want to tell him, not yet . . ." Nacari said with determination.

_What a small minded and weak willed child you are. You are so immature, he is your partner, then again, all people you have a bond with turn up . . . well, you know. Maybe it is time to leave soon, things are starting to get worse for us the longer we stay here . . . _The voice faded and Nacari froze once more. She looked down and hugged herself. She shivered and goose bumps were appearing on her arms.

"No, I am not leaving! I like it here, I like Dante! I am not leaving, I am not, I AM NOT!" she repeated to herself. Her eyes became wide as she heard something rustling behind her. She looked back and saw a figure in the opening of the alleyway. It seemed to be walking towards her. Nacari gasped and started walking away faster, though her ribs and head protested. She thought she heard the figure getting closer and began jogging. She licked her lips and tasted the coppery flavor of blood. Her breathing became labored as her head began spinning from the effort of jogging.

She felt a shiver go up her spine that turned into a chill and spread throughout her head. Her mouth became dry and her vision began swimming. Although her body was protesting, Nacari sprinted away from the approaching figure and ran down many back streets and dark alleyways she did not recognize. She looked behind her and saw no one was chasing her anymore. She slowed down and leaned against the wall, her hand going to her chest. Her heart was pounding in her ears and she felt bile rise in her throat, but she swallowed it down and shivered.

The chill that had gone up her spine had attached itself to her brain and felt like it was digging into the grey matter. Nacari pulled her hair in exasperation then fell to her knees. She hugged herself and rubbed her arms to chase away the cold that was seeping into her bones. Her vision was blurry and she thought she was beginning to drool as she laid her head on the dark alleyway floor and closed her eyes. She felt a long suppressed memory clambering its way to the surface . . .

_ Nacari huddled in the hallway as she heard her parents arguing. Lenore was yelling at her father about something. She wanted to hear what they were talking about, but she wasn't sure if she could get closer without being seen. She twirled a shoulder length piece of hair as she strained her ears to hear the argument. Her step-mother was reaching a very shrill tone now and Nacari desperately wanted to know what they were talking about. She didn't care if she was spotted; she decided to sneak closer to the doorway to hear the conversation._

_ She managed to slide along the wall without being seen and listened outside the doorway. Her father was not speaking and Lenore had just begun speaking once more._

_ "I tell you, Darren, you WILL get rid of these God awful children! They are so messy and such; with that son of yours always leaving books laying around and drawing on his bedroom walls, he is sixteen for God sakes he should grow up! And that daughter of yours, oh that damn daughter of yours, always sneaking out and back sassing you AND me, they need to be disciplined, and frankly, you are just not cutting out to be the father type," Lenore snorted and coughed a little. Nacari heard her pacing back and forth between the shelves of books in her father's study. She heard the squeaking of her father's chair as he changed his position and settled back down uncomfortably. Lenore began talking once more._

_ "I have the PERFECT idea to get rid of these kids," Lenore said calmly but with malice in her voice, "we just send them to a boarding school! It is simple really; I can take care of enrollment fees! I mean, the boy may, MAY be able to find a successful career with all the book smarts he has, but that daughter . . . no. All she knows is fighting and rebellion; you know what I was told? She stays in the cemetery at night, THE CEMEMTARY! That is not healthy for a child, and she needs to learn to grow up and stop living in this world where her siblings and mom are still alive. It has been what? Two, three years since Iris died and she still cries and whines about it! I tell you Darren, this is the best thing we can do for them. They are broken children, they need someone who can help them, someone who can deal with them and understand their needs. They are going crazy in grief, and we cannot do anything to help them, you need to understand that. It is for the best Darren, it is best to send them away . . ." Lenore said more, but Nacari didn't hear anything. _

_ Her breath was coming rapidly and her eyes were overflowing with tears. Her father couldn't be sending her away, could he? She shook her head and clambered up awkwardly and began running down the halls to her room. She was not going away and leaving her family, even if that meant living in the cemetery mausoleum. She bumped into her brother, hiding in the shadows. He looked at her questionably; at least she assumed he did because she could not see his face. Nacari's lips were quivering and she shook her head. She ran into her room and toke out a small duffle. She stuffed some clothes and a blanket into the duffle bag along with a pillow and a few of her favorite novels. She also toke a few hundred bucks from Lenore's purse and stuffed it into the bag. All the while her brother was just standing in the doorway, silent. Nacari looked at him and scowled. She poked him in the chest and grabbed a picture of the family sitting on a nightstand._

_ "I will not leave my family, I WILL NOT! That bitch is going to send us away, but I won't let her get me, I won't! You stay if you want, I do not care anymore, but I will not stand by as she takes over the family!" Nacari got closer to him and scowled, "She is trying to take us away, but I will not go. You, you good for nothing goody two shoes can stay and suck up to her all you want, but I won't, I won't just stand by and wait for her to send us away, away from everything we know and love," Nacari pushed him away and stormed out the door and began running towards the cemetery, all the while unaware of a figure watching her go with something shiny in his hand . . ._


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter Twenty Seven

Nacari opened her eyes and gasped for air. Her body was shaking as the memory ran through her mind over and over again. Her brother . . . she knew she had another one, but his name, she couldn't remember his name. Nacari went into the fetal position and cried out in agony. The fresh pain of knowing her family was gone and the thought of leaving them ran through her mind. Her body was rigid and pulsated in pain as the memory burned itself into her mind.

She didn't know how long she stayed like that, but she knew night was beginning to fall and she needed to go home. She slowly went on her knees and tried to stand up. Her knees were shaking and her legs felt like jelly but she managed to stand. She was filthy from laying in garbage and puddles of who knows what. She looked around but could not find a familiar landmark. Terror gripped her heart as she looked around the alleyway. She had no idea where she was. She wanted to try to retrace her steps but found she could not move her legs.

"Hell . . . Hello?" she cried out. When no one answered her, she walked along the wall for support. Her eyes grew wide as she stumbled out of the alleyway and found herself in a rundown area of the city she has never seen. Sleazy bars and boarded up houses littered the isolated street. Nacari heard some cats fighting in the alley she had just came from and shivered. She looked around the abandoned street and bit her lip nervously. She rubbed her arms to try and heat them up. She had no idea where she was, but her short term memory was starting to return to her.

_My name is Nacari; I am twenty two years old, I live somewhere in a city, this city, I think . . . _She rubbed her temples as a migraine began to spread through her head. Usually when she remembers something from her childhood she tends to forget what she was doing and even who she was. Her head was throbbing at the struggle of remembering everything that happened in the last few hours. Nacari fought back a sob and began walking towards one of the few run down bars.

She opened the door and she was greeted by the smell of stale cigarette smoke and cheap smelling booze. She looked around and saw a few gentlemen at the bar and a gremlin like bartender. At the sound of the squeaky door, the regulars looked up to see who else would be coming here. They were shocked to see a young woman that was not half bad looking in their neck of the woods. Nacari gave them a weak smile and a wave and walked up to the bartender. He looked up at her from the glass he was cleaning and gave her a disapproving look.

"Hi," Nacari said weakly. Her voice was a little shaky and she grabbed on to the bar to help her stay upright, "I am wondering where I am, could . . . could you help me find my way home . . ." she asked wearily. The bartender licked his chapped and scared lips and parted them to reveal his tar stained teeth.

"Where are you headed little missy?" the bartender asked in a rough voice. The men at the bar were still looking over at Nacari, inspecting her. She gave them a wary look then focused her attention back on the bartender.

"A . . . A place called Devil May Cry," Nacari tripped over her words as she tried to remember the name of the place she was staying at. The men at the bar did a double take and then moved further down the bar. The bartender stopped cleaning the glass and looked at her apprehensively.

"Devil May Cry?" he asked in a hushed but gruff voice. Nacari glared at the man and nodded.

"Yes, Devil May Cry. I am not sure what part of the city I am in and I would like to head home . . ." she looked over at the men again and they looked away. She turned back to the bartender and cleared her throat.

"Man, missy, you is a far way from home you are," he said with a twinge of uncertainty in his voice. She gave him a nervous look and brushed a stray hair from her face.

"Well, I was trying to escape someone who was following me, and then I sort of blacked out, so please just help me find my way home?" she asked in an annoyed tone of voice. She felt a rough hand on her arm and looked up. It was one of the men that were checking her out earlier, the youngest of the four. He had a haze in his brown eyes and a goofy grin that showed yellow teeth. Nacari pulled away and glared at the man.

"I can help you home, little lady," he slurred in her ear, "I know the place pretty well." Nacari backed up a little and gave him a wary look and suppressed a scowl. His breath reeked of alcohol and rancid meat. Nacari wrinkled her nose and pursed her lips.

"No. I can find my way by myself," she began walking out but Stinky grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him. She bumped into his chest and was greeted with the smell of B.O. He grabbed onto her and smiled a greasy smile.

"Now hold on there, sweetie. What is the rush? I mean, that ain't a place for pretty women like you to hang out, so why don't you hang out with my friends and myself? I mean you should not be out alone," his grip tightened and he began dragging her over and the other boys were whistling and patting each other on the back when the door opened once more. The men looked over again, hoping that it was a friend of the cute chick and they would have two women.

It was Nacari's friend, but it was not another girl. As he walked over to the guy holding onto Nacari, his red coat floated above the ground like a living thing. His blue eyes were flashing dangerously as he approached the man. The man with the red coat was a good few inches taller than the guy and he stared up at the stranger like he was a serial killer. Nacari shrugged the guy off and squinted at the man. She recognized him a little, but she couldn't place a name for the face. He glared down at her and shook his head.

"What the hell are you doing here Nacari?" he asked her. Her eyes widened at the sound of the familiar voice and then his name registered.

"Dante . . . What are you doing here?" she asked in shock. The guy backed up a little, then retreated like a little girl to his friends. Dante smirked as the men stared at the two then looked away. The bartender backed up a little and turned his back to them and pretended to clean his glass.

"I could ask you the same question," he said, "now come on, let's get out of here," he toke Nacari by the hand and dragged her outside. She blushed at his touch, but said nothing and obediently followed behind him. After they were safely away from the street, Dante stopped and glared Nacari.

"Why the hell did you run away from me back there and what were you doing in a dump like that?" he asked in an annoyed tone. Nacari looked at him and shrugged.

"I didn't know that was you," she said softly. Dante sighed and ran a hand through his hair. They were standing there awkwardly for a while. Nacari finally broke the silence.

"What were you doing coming after me?" she asked him. He looked at her and smirked.

"I thought you might get into trouble," he chuckled and ruffled her hair, "looks like I was right," he said. Nacari smiled a little then became serious.

"You seem happier than you were when I left, and I am still mad at you for what you and that friend of yours said," she said to him. She was going to cross her arms but kept them at her sides. Dante shrugged and looked away.

"I . . . I also came after you because I, kind of wanted to apologize," he said in a quiet voice, "I have been acting kind of . . ." he searched for the right word and Nacari chimed in.

"Acting like a jerk," she chirped gleefully. He looked at her and shrugged.

"Sure, let's go with that. Anyway, and I want to apologize. It's just, when you went into the hospital, I was worried, almost scared for you. I haven't felt that way in a while, and I didn't know why I . . ." Nacari place a hand over his mouth and made a shushing noise. She removed her hand and looked at him with a sad smile.

"Ok Dante, I forgive you, but you aren't the sensitive type. Though, I do like this side of you more than your grumpy side," she said. Dante smiled a little and began walking away. Nacari rushed after him lazily and caught up to him.

"You are right though, I am childish," Nacari said sadly. Dante looked over at her and shrugged.

"It adds to your charm," he said. Nacari looked up at him and blushed.

"You think," she asked.

"No," he chuckled at the face Nacari made and ruffled her hair, "I was joking," he said. Nacari gave him a half smile and punched him in the arm.

"You're such a jerk!" she giggled. Dante shrugged and chuckled. They walked in silence for a while, both just enjoying the cool night air. Nacari gave Dante a sideways glance than pounced on him and hugged him. Dante flinched a little and looked at her like she was crazy.

"What are you doing?" he asked. Nacari hugged him tighter and buried her face in his chest.

"Hugging you," she said, "Dante, I am glad you decided to take me on as your partner. I really like you, although you are a jerk. I think you may be one of my closest friends," she looked up at him and there was a strange sparkle in her eyes. Dante cleared his throat and looked away.

"Ok, ok, let's not get too touchy feely, ok?" Dante said. Nacari let him go and blushed. Dante gave her a sideways glance and she gave him a weak smile.

"Yeah, you're right," she said. She rubbed her ribs and winced at the pressure from her hand. Dante looked at her skeptically.

"You ok?" he asked. Nacari gave him another weak smile and nodded.

"Yeah, I just need to take some more pain meds when I get home, that's all," she reassured him. Dante looked at her than shrugged. The two walked back to Devil May Cry as the moon rose over the buildings.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter Twenty Eight

Dante had just finished reading the job description and looked over at Nacari. She raised an eyebrow and scratched her head.

"Seems easy," she said quietly. Dante gave her a skeptical look.

"You don't seem too confident about that," he said, "you sure you up for it?" he asked. Nacari nodded her head and leaned against his desk.

"I'll be fine, it doesn't seem too bad. It seems very mediocre to what we faced a few days ago," she said. He shrugged and set down the file.

"You know we are going to have to go undercover, right?" he asked her. She shook her head and crossed her arms.

"Why do we have to go undercover?" she asked skeptically, "It doesn't seem like too hard of a job, we can just take him out wherever he shows up and be done with it and get paid. That is, IF you get paid. I'm tired of paying for everything for you," she brushed something of her shirt and stared down at the floor. Dante rolled his eyes and place the file in his desk drawer.

"Whatever, just make sure that you be extra careful this time. I do not need you slowing me down with your injuries," he said. Nacari walked behind him and ruffled his hair with a smirk.

"Don't worry, I am a lot stronger than I look, promise!" she winked at him and walked to the stairs.

"When are we going?" she asked. Dante fanned his face jokingly and made a face.

"After you get a shower, you reek," he chuckled. She became serious but her eyes were smiling.

"Shut up!" she said with a little giggle in her voice, "Look who's talking!" she hurried up the stairs and Dante heard the bathroom shut. He looked down at the still open drawer and his hand hovered over the article partially hidden by the job file. He was about to pick it up and read over it once more, but he slammed the drawer shut and leaned back in his chair.

A young man walks into the local inn. His bright blue eyes skimmed the inside of the bar. A man was slumped in the bar stool and must have passed out and a young couple were talking and kept looking over at him. His eyes fell on a young girl at the bar nursing a drink. He smiled a little and walked over to her. She didn't even look up as he cleared his throat.

"Is this seat taken?" He asked in a seductive voice. She shrugged and toke a sip from her drink. He pulled a chair out and plopped down. He ordered a brandy and looked over at her. Her blonde hair fell of her shoulders and onto the counter and her eyes were closed tightly. Her cheeks were red and it seemed as if her face was tear stained. He scooted over a little closer to her and cleared his throat again. She didn't open her eyes and seemed to be ignoring him.

"What is wrong miss?" he asked with a little concern. She shook her head and sighed. She took another sip of her drink and took a deep breath. He sat there awkwardly waiting to see what she would say. When she said nothing, he took it upon himself to hold the conversation.

"My name is Dwight," he said, "What is your name?" Her lip rose in a little scowl and she took a bigger gulp from her drink.

"Nina," she said gruffly. Dwight nodded and ran a hand nervously through his hair. He looked around the room and saw the couple giving him skeptical looks but when they saw him looking they resumed their conversation. He looked back to the man passed out and he mumbled something in his sleep. He rolled his shoulders and gave Nina a smile.

"Nina is a very pretty name;" he said happily, "My mother's grandmother was named Nina. Nina is such a nice name, if I have a little girl one day, I would name her Nina," Nina drank the rest of her drink and slammed it down on the counter. She wiped her mouth with her sleeve and looked over at him. Her eyes seemed to be burning with rage, but were also wet with tears.

"What do you want?" she asked through gritted teeth. Dwight recoiled a little from her aggressive attitude but then gave her another reassuring smile. She saw the smile and turned away from him.

"I just wanted to talk to a pretty lady . . ." he said sadly. She gave him a sideways glance and sighed. She spun around in her stool and was facing Dwight. She twirled a piece of blonde hair and closed her eyes.

"I am sorry," she said weakly, "it's just I was stood up. I was supposed to meet someone here, and we were supposed to go bar hopping and hang out, but he never showed. I just wish I could meet a guy who was actually reliable and that actually keeps a date," she turned away from him and banged her glass on the counter. The bartender walked over to her and gave her another drink with a look of annoyance on his eyes. Dwight had just realized that Nina was surrounded by empty glasses.

"I didn't mean to treat you so cruelly," she picked up her new drink and started sipping it gingerly, "It's just that I am in no mood for talking, you know?" she petted her hair and let out a big breath. She looked over at Dwight and gave him a forced smile.

"You seem like a great guy and all, but . . ." Dwight held up a hand and smiled.

"Say no more, Miss Nina. You do not need to speak, I just want to be in the presence of a beautiful girl, even if I can't talk to her," he raised his glass and motioned it at her.

"To awkward silences," he said in a chipper voice. Nina raised her glass and clinked her glass with his glass.

"To awkward silences," she replied. They shot the rest of their drinks down. They both ordered another drink and began talking to each other.

"Do you like poetry?" he asked her, his voice becoming a little slurred. Nina cleared her throat.

"I am not a big fan, but I can recite some poetry, well I used to be able to, familiar with the poem _Annabelle Lee_?" She asked him. He shook his hand in a little.

"Kind of, I know Edgar Allen Poe wrote it. He really isn't my favorite poet," he said. Nina shook her head and smiled.

"He is a great mind, though he does have very morbid thoughts, he was a great literary mind," she took a drink and giggled, "I like him because he always adds morbid twists to his short stories. Oh, like, _The Cask of Monte _Cristo_,_ oh what a truly amazing story," she fluttered her eyes dreamily and sighed.

"What an extraordinary man . . ." she sighed again then downed the test of her drink. She slammed her glass down and the barman got her another drink. She drank half of her drink in one gulp and quickly turned to look at Dwight. Her green eyes had a mischievous glow to them and licked her lips seductively.

"You know Dwight, I am only in town for a few more days and I want to experience the city to the fullest, that was why I was meeting my date here, I told him I was staying here. You see, my mother had just died and I was the only living relative she had, so I got some stuff," Nina told him. Dwight's eyes widened and there was a smile playing on his lips.

"Oh dear, your mother is dead?" he said in a voice with strained concern, "and you were her only living relative? Dear me, it must be very lonely for you," he said. Nina nodded and closed her eyes.

"Yes, and I do not want to be alone," she placed a warm hand on his, "not now, when I just lost someone so dear to me . . ." she picked up her purse and placed a few waded bills on the counter. As she got up the couple who was still there got up as well and they left the bar and walked onto the alleyway adjacent to the building. The man who was passed out woke up and ordered another drink but then fell asleep again after drinking some. Nina began walking to the stairs in the far side of the bar and lounge. She turned to Dwight and motioned for him to follow her.

"Come with me, I have something to show you . . ." she began walking upstairs. Dwight eagerly clambered up the stairs after her. She waited outside the first door on the left until Dwight came to her. She smiled and opened the door.

"This is really something! Follow me . . ." she toke his hand and lead him into the room. It was a two room little apartment, but everything seemed like it had not been disturbed in weeks. Nina walked into the bedroom and winked at Dwight.

"I will be right back," she closed the door and left Dwight where he was. Dwight smiled evilly and his eyes went from blue to yellow.

"I am not going anywhere . . ." he chuckled and sat in the chair stretched out.

"You know, I may have been a little less than honest about myself when we were talking," he said gruffly, his smooth voice becoming more strained and rough. There was some rustling from inside the room.

"Really?" Nina asked, "How strange, I also wasn't very honest either," she said. Dwight's smile widened to reveal small sharp teeth.

"Oh, well, what did YOU lie about?" he asked. More rustling from the room and a grunt.

"Well," she began, "My name isn't actually Nina, and I wasn't waiting for a date, because he showed up," she looked at Dwight and smiled, "There he is now," Dwight looked over at the door and saw it opening. Standing in the door way was the guy who was passed out with a guitar case and a smug smirk. His eyes stared out from his silver hair and he looked over at 'Nina'.

"Heheh, good work, Nacari," he said, "I wasn't expecting you to actually be able to pull it off," he looked over at Dwight and grinned, "but he is desperate, desperate enough to go after you anyway," Nina walked out with a green sword half her size. She grabbed her hair and pulled it off to reveal long silky black hair with electric blue tips.

"Shut up, Dante," she said in mock anger, "you did your part well, too. You played the role of the drunk to perfection. Oh wait, I forgot, it's not an act," she laughed and then focused her attention back to Dwight.

"And I already know about you, 'Dwight'," she said. She raised her sword and looked at him with a smirk.

"You have been a very bad boy. With you killing all those poor girls, all of whom you picked up at bars. I was lucky to have found you, it was a one in a million chance finding you at this bar, but we got lucky," she winked at him and pointed her sword at him. Dwight looked over at the guy standing in the door way as he closed the door. He reached into his jacket and pulled out two guns. He cocked his guns and had a wicked grin on his face. He turned back to the girl and she was glaring at him with green eyes almost glowing.

"Now, it is time for you to pay for your crimes . . ." she raised her sword and slashed out at him. Dwight picked up the chair he was sitting on and used it as a shield against her blow. The sword cut through the couch like a knife through butter and he threw the torn couch down. He hissed at her and started climbing on the walls. The guy had started firing at him as he crawled on the roof. Dwight dropped down and slashed at him with sharp talons. His talons met fabric and flesh and he managed to make him drop the gun. The guy struck out at him and punched his face. He was a lot stronger than the average human and the demon stumbled backwards.

The girl flew herself at him and began slashing and cutting him. With each cut from the blade, a strange burning sensation ran through his body. It had burned like crazy, but he ignored the pain and threw her off of him. She flew back and hit the small table and broke it in half. A small stream of blood ran down her face, but she wiped it away and stood up. Just then, the demon felt something tear and dig into his back. He screech as her felt the flesh give way to the bullet. He turned around and glared at the guy. He had gotten his other gun back and was firing nonstop towards him. He hissed and jumped onto the low ceiling to avoid the bullets. His nails dug into the ceiling and crawled to the window. He jumped down and busted the glass into the window. He crawled onto the wall and clambered out into the alley. Nacari looked out into the ally way and growled.

"Damnit! He is getting away!" She gave Dante a sideways glance and snarled. Dante walked over and looked out into the alley.

"It's only a two story drop, we can catch up to him!" he said. Nacari looked at him skeptically.

"If we drop, we will break our legs!" she exclaimed. Dante smiled evilly and climbed onto the window ledge. He looked over at her and motioned to her.

"Climb onto my back, we don't have much time!" he said. Nacari looked at him like he was crazy, but she obeyed him in order to catch the demon.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" she asked aggressively after she clambered onto Dante's back. Without answering her, he jumped off the ledge and landed on the ground without a scratch. Nacari was holding tightly and slid off weakly. She shook her head and looked at him like he was crazy, but saw he was unharmed and shrugged. Just then they heard a shriek farther down the alley. They looked at each other uneasily and ran off further into the alley.

As they were running they saw two figures lying down in the alley. Nacari ran up to one and placed her hand on the woman but pulled it away in disgust. She was covered in blood. She had her clothes off and her back was racked with scratches. She turned to Dante and motioned to him. He walked up to her and examined the body.

"Looks like the work of our guy," she said quietly. Dante nodded and examined her more closely.

"She looks familiar, doesn't she?" Dante asked. Nacari looked at her a little closely and gasped a little.

"She was that one girl at the bar when we got there," she stood up and looked at Dante,

"If she is like this, then we better find her friend before he ends up like her," she said. Dante walked away and examined behind the garbage cans.

"Looks like we're too late," Dante said. Nacari walked over to where Dante was and looked at what he was looking at. She blushed at the sight and looked away. It was the woman's date, laying naked in his own pool of blood. Nacari cleared her throat nervously and hugged herself.

"Ok, he is a goner, and it certainly looks like our demons MO," Dante turned around and looked at Nacari, "alright, let's go find him," Dante began walking away. Nacari looked over her shoulder at the naked corpse and blushed even more.

"Yeah, although my sword didn't get into any important veins, the Ravein should be kicking in and should be slowing him down because of the pain," Nacari said. She caught up to Dante and gripped her sword even more tightly. He gave her a backwards glance and pulled out his sword. Nacari gazed at the gigantic blade and swallowed nervously.

"When did you get that?" she asked nervously. Dante slung his sword over his shoulder and shrugged.

"I had it all along, you should have paid more attention," he said matter of factly. Nacari stared at him in disbelief and shook her head.

"Whatever," she said, "We're going to lose him if we don't pick up the pace. Come on!" She started running down the alley and Dante chased after her into the dark maze of the city.

(_Author's Note; Hey there readers! It might be a long time until I post any more chapters. I am working on a new story right now, so I will be pretty busy. Wow, already at Chapter 28 and a lot of people have added this story to their favorites. Who knew people actually liked it? (Even if Nacari is a little Mary Sue, which I really tried hard to avoid TT_TT) Anyway, hope you guys are enjoying the story and please review!) _


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